


Survival Skills

by Godsliltippy, TenjounoTora



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Outdoor Adventures, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-11-24 17:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20911196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Godsliltippy/pseuds/Godsliltippy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenjounoTora/pseuds/TenjounoTora
Summary: Alan and Gordon finally get a chance to participate in an activity their father created.((RP fic))





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tenjournotora plays Alan and Scott
> 
> Godsliltippy plays Gordon and Virgil

Silence. That was the goal as Gordon made his way through the cluttered room, but he was fairly certain it wasn't needed. His little brother could sleep through just about anything and required a great deal of effort to bring to full awareness. Gordon hoped the surprise strapped to his back would be enough to break through the sleep haze. 

Carefully, he let the pack fall from his shoulder to sit in front of the younger blonde's splayed legs as he slept in the bean bag chair, game control falling from his hands. Then, gleeful grin on his face, Gordon knelt beside Alan and began the one wakeup strategy he knew would be effective. 

A finger began poking at the boy's cheek repeatedly, "Alan, Alan, hey Alan, Alaaaaan, Allie-li-li-li-lie-"

Alan was not ready to get up, but then he never was. Waking up was one of the worst inventions in the world. The only thing that would wake him from a sound sleep for sure was the klaxon warning of a rescue, but even then it still takes him a minute to wake up enough not to trip on the various things scattered across his floor--though he still does half the time. 

The thing poking him in the face, wasn’t working as well as its owner had hoped. Alan barely moved but reached up and batted--or at least attempted to--the annoyance away. But it was persistent. 

“I’m not a dog, Gordon. Leave me alone. I got to sleep late.” With that Alan rolled over and drifted back to sleep. 

Undaunted, Gordon ruffled his little brother's hair before unzipping the front pocket of the pack and pulling out his next option. "C'mon, Al. You know I've got other ways of waking you." The sound of a cap popping off a marker sounded without the older brother having to look. "Now, I can't promise this won't be permanent, but I do promise to take lots of pictures."

Grin spreading, Gordon pressed the tip of the pen to Alan's cheek, letting the 'ink' of the anti-itch solution trail across it. If the chill of the solution wasn't enough, there was always plan C.

At the feel of the strange wet coolness on his cheek Alan jumped, pushed Gordon away, and then fell backwards out of the beanbag and onto the floor. 

“Ow!” Alan popped up from behind the beanbag wiping his arm across his cheek. “What did you put on me? It stinks!” 

Only two tries. Not bad. Scott would owe him dinner after they got back. He wiggled the pen up for Alan to see. "Don't worry. You'll just be itch-free. Honestly, not the worst thing I coulda done." His eyes twinkled as he lifted the pack while getting to his feet. "Here. You might need this where we're going." 

Unceremoniously, he tossed the bag to Alan's feet before pocketing the pen. 

Alan blinked at his brother and then looked down at the bag. “What?” 

He blinked a few more times, his mind still fogged up from sleep. Once his mind started to work again he took in what exactly was at his feet. It wasn’t just a normal backpack, it was the one they used for hiking, but it had been years since they had all gone on a hiking trip together. 

“Are we hiking to the other side of the island or something?” He picked the bag up and looked into it. It was mostly empty with just a few supplies that usually just stayed in the bag from use to use. 

"Think a bit more extreme, lil bro," Gordon, himself, was trying to contain the excitement that came with the trip they were about to go on. "Remember when Scott and Virgil left on that five day trip to Yosemite? They only had these packs and limited supplies. They came back all scruff and stink. Man, it was awesome!" He couldn't help the cheshire grin as he bounced with the hope his brother was catching on. 

“You mean the trip Dad sent them on? I remember hearing about it--I was at school then.” Alan threw the bag on the bed and smiled at his brother. “So it’s our turn huh? Where are we going? And for how long?” 

"Scott said Alaska, but that's all we get right now," Gordon took a seat on the edge of the bed as he started rummaging through what little they had. He pulled out the map that showed the entirety of the state and its vast woodland. Their brothers could be dropping them off anywhere to begin their journey. "So, from what I remember, they had to make it to a specific location on their map within five days. I figure, they'll pick somewhere nice to wait for us. That means we'll be five days out from it. That should narrow down the list of where we'll be. We get a bit of an advantage." 

Alan snatched the map from Gordon and looked at it. “Knowing Scott though, his nice place is going to be half way up a mountain.” He turned the map this way and that. “How good are you at reading one of these paper maps? I’ve only used GPS really.” 

Alan turned and started to rummage through a pile on his floor. “We’re allowed some extra clothes at least? And some rain gear, and stuff like that?” 

Gordon took the map and eyed it for a moment before folding it back up. "Eh, can't be too hard once we know where we're going. My sense of direction and your brains, this should be a literal walk in the park." 

Shoving the folded map into the pack, he regarded the haphazard pile of laundry. "One extra set of clothes - make sure they're warm, it's gonna get cold - we get a tarp, ropes, tools, first aid kit, compass, map, and - uh… oh and one day's worth of rations each." The mere mention of that rule made his stomach flip.

That made Alan stop, a pair of boxers in his hand. “You mean we have to find our own food?” A grimace crossed his face. The idea of having to kill for food wasn’t exactly to his taste--fish though. “I hope there’s a big river or berries or stuff like that. Unless you want to skin a squirrel.” 

He shook his head and made his way to his dresser and pulled out some pants and long sleeved shirts. “What do you think they would say if we got totally lost though? I almost want to do that just to see.” A large grin split across his face as he threw the clothes on his bed. “Wait, do we get any time to plan or. like, are we leaving today?” 

Gordon winced with the same train of thought as his little brother about killing animals. Even fish didn't sit well with him, but depending on the salmon migration season, they could have an abundant resource. Plus the idea of fresh salmon was slightly enough to change his mind. 

Glancing at his wrist out of habit, he redirected the hand to the phone in his pocket. "ETA to leave is two hours. How much do you think we can figure out in that time?"

“That’s plenty of time! At least we can look up what indiginous edible stuff there is.” Alan grabbed his tablet off the floor where he had dropped it and sat down next to his brother. “I’m assuming you know how to filet a fish, cause I definitely don’t. We can look up ways to protect ourselves from meese, bears, and other things like that.” 

A brow quirked and he chuckled at his brother's grammar slip. "Well, we've got Brains' sonic emitters to scare off any  _ moose _ or bears. As long as we have those, we should be safe from being eaten or trampled." Gordon gave an enthusiastic thumbs up before standing. "Alright, Sprout,. I'm gonna finish grabbing some clothes and we can start figuring out what else we'll need." With a quick salute and a wave, he backed his way towards the door. 

Alan stood and grabbed the bag from the bed, stuffing it with the clothes and other necessities he figured he’d need. The two hours seemed to go by much too fast. After he had packed as best he could, he spent some time looking things up online, but he had barely looked up half of what he wanted before they were being ushered into Thunderbird Two. 

The flight to Alaska was enjoyable, Scott and Virgil regaled them with a few short stories from their own survival trip all those years ago. 

They arrived hardly twenty minutes later and Virgil started their decent as Scott stood and turned to the two youngest. 

“Alright. It’s time. Hand me your map.” Scott held out his hand and waited for Gordon to fish the map out of his bag. Once it was handed over he pulled out a black marker and marked on it, then flipped it around for the both of them to see. “We are here now, and this is where we’ll be waiting on you--as long as there isn’t a rescue that is. If that is the case we’ll leave you a message.” 

Scott folded the map back up and handed it back to Gordon. “You two have to find your way there without any technology. You both have a compass, yes?” 

The two nodded. 

“Good. Pencils?” 

“I have a pen. I figured a pencil would break and then we’d have nothing.”

“Good thinking, Alan. You have enough rations for two days. You can use them all at once or spread them out, it’s your decision. You’ll need to figure out food outside of that on your own. Hopefully you remembered a sharp knife. You should have some flint to help start a fire, though trust me, it won’t be easy.” 

Scott pulled out a small comm unit from his pocket and held it up. “This is for emergencies only. John will be monitoring the frequency the whole time and there is a tracker in it if we need to find you. If you use it and it’s not an emergency then you have failed the test.” He handed the unit to Alan who stashed it in his bag. 

“You have five days to reach the destination. If you have not arrived by the evening of the fifth day we will come and look for you. Otherwise you’re on your own. Any questions?” 

Gordon raised a hand, grinning as he asked, "So wha'do we get if we make it there earlier than day five? Please say dibs on picking the next vacation!" 

From the front of Thunderbird 2, Virgil's voice boomed with amusement. "You'll be lucky if you two can make it three days before you want to tear each other's heads off." 

The aquanaut didn't miss the pointed glare over their pilot's shoulder, obviously aimed at their eldest brother. There was a story there, left untold, but potentially worth digging up later. For now, Gordon was happy to figure out what their first move was once they were on their own. He'd lain down the challenge and he was determined to meet it, whether their big brothers believed they could or not. 

"So, just to be clear, we have an emergency comm slash tracker and the animal ear blasters. Sounds like fun!" He gave Alan a playful jab to the arm. "Might even get you to gut your first fish."

Alan was all smiles. It was sounding like a real challenge, but one he was up for. “I’ll leave the fish mutilation to the expert. But in exchange I’ll cook!” 

“Alright. It’s time to go you two.” Scott laughed a little and motioned for them to grab their bags and get on the platform. “We’re camping out as well so if you do get there early, we’ll be waiting.” 

With a nod to Virgil the platform started lowering. 

As soon as it hit the ground, Alan hopped off and ran to the edge of the clearing to give Virgil the clearance to take off. Once Gordon had joined him, the big green bird roared to life and disappeared. 

“So, which way do we go first?” 

(End Chapter 1 here?) 

Giving their surroundings a once over, Gordon found they'd be left in a fairly empty clearing. Other than the towering, snow peaked mountains in the distance, all they had were pine trees and waist high shrubs. Nothing immediately helpful. 

Shrugging off his pack, he pulled out the map and compass, handing the metal device to Alan. "Figure out which way's north. Looks like our destination is southeast from where they dropped us."

The map was spread between his outstretched arms, noting the nearly seventy mile trek they would need to cover. Gordon had to hand it to Scott and Virgil. This wasn't going to be easy. There were thick lines of blue that marked rivers they would need to cross, but that did offer an easily obtained food source, his fishing gear stashed in his pack. He was thankful they had opted on a large breakfast to help them conserve as much of their food as they could. It didn't escape him that there was a mountain in their way, as well. Alan was the better climber and would likely take the lead there. 

If they managed to cover at least twenty miles before making camp, they'd be well in the green to arrive before the fifth day. Now, he just needed a direction to head in. 

Alan took the compass and quickly determined which way was north. “We’ll need to head that way then.” He pointed into the dense forest and looked to his brother. “I don’t know much about survival on land--most of my reading is on survival in space after all. But wouldn’t it be best to like take our time? If we try to rush too much we could easily get ourselves hurt or lost or something.” 

Gordon followed the direction indicated and glanced back at the map. "True, but it looks like the terrain between here and our potential campsite is fairly flat. We can cover a lot of space now, then take our time getting over that." He pointed to the mountain range standing between them and their destination. 

"Not to mention, there's a river I'd like to get to, maybe grab a couple fish to help conserve our rations. We'll need those for later." Smile broadening with the need to start the adventure, he put the map back and clapped Alan on the shoulder. "This is gonna be awesome!" 

Alan scrunched his nose up for a moment in thought. He then nodded and cracked a bit smile at his brother before taking off into the woods. “First one to the river gets the bigger serving!” 

Alan ran through the woods, ducking under branches and jumping over roots. He was more than ready to get to the first campsite and hang out with Gordon next to a river with fresh fish over the fire. Just the thought of it made his mouth water. 

He ran for about a mile before he stopped to catch his breath, looking back to see how far behind him Gordon was. 

He couldn't help the weary chuckle at his little brother's energy. Gordon had opted to slow his pace, not ready to burn himself out too quickly. His endurance wasn't as good on land as it was in the pool, but that wasn't going to hinder him from making it to the river and camp before nightfall. 

"Wait up, Al!" Gordon called after noticing Alan had stopped. 

Alan smiled and took off again--albite at a slower pace--once Gordon had caught up to him. The trek through the woods was fairly level and easy. They had already hiked almost ten miles when they decided to take a quick rest. According to the map, there was a small stream--a tributary from the river they were heading for--and was perfect for a quick splash on the face before continuing on. 

The only problem was, they weren’t the only ones to think of it. 

Alan had dashed out ahead of his brother like he had been doing all day, only he froze about twenty-feet from the water’s edge. 

Gordon had been content to let his eyes roam their surroundings as they made their way through the forest. It had been a while since he'd visited one that wasn't flooded or on fire, making nature seem so much more alive than he was accustomed. His ear had been trained on the footfalls of his brother, who couldn't seem to contain his need to sprint ahead, but when the sound stopped, his gaze shifted to find Alan's bright red pack, frozen with its wearer. It only took him a minute to come up beside him, the younger man still unmoving.

"What's wrong?" He didn't know why he was whispering, but something about the wide blue eyes told Gordon it was important. As he turned his attention to the stream before them, he quickly found the reason. "Oh, wow - okay… Just hold still." 

A bear, impossibly large this close - but that was his imagination mixing with the adrenaline. Later, he would realize it wasn't at it's full size this far from winter, but it could still do some damage if they ended up on the receiving end of one of its paws. The procedures were blurring through his mind even as his hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the sound emitter. It was a 'just in case' if his initial plan didn't work out. 

"Alright, Al, we're gonna back track, nice and easy." Gordon's hand caught the crook of his brother's arm and slowly started pulling him back.

Alan swallowed the knot in his throat and nodded at his brother. He backed up slowly, the bear hadn’t seemed of noticed them yet, but as they did Alan couldn’t help but take in the beast before him. 

The paws were huge, bigger than his head he’d bet. But there was something gentle about it as well, half in the steam drinking water and splashing itself with the cool liquid. 

He also couldn’t help the quirk on his lips as his mind started to compare the gentle giant with Virgil--though it took a lot more to get Virgil riled up than the bear he imagined. However he had no desire to compare that aspect of the two. 

As soon as they were well in the trees they quietly circled around to avoid him and the stream deciding that their water would last them until the river where they could fill up and make it drinkable with the purifying drops they had brought with them. 

However, neither realized just how much of a setback meeting that bear would be. Giving the bear a wide berth meant that they had to go due west rather than south west and that caused them to encounter some small cliffs they had to climb up in order to head south again. 

Alan was at the top of what they hoped would be the last of them--until they hit the mountain at least--waiting for Gordon to catch up so he could help him over the edge. As soon as his brother came into view he reached down and took his arm. 

“So--” Alan grunted a little as he hauled Gordon up. “Are we getting any closer to your campsite?” 

He wanted to say not much further, but there was an undeniable fact that they'd added a good couple of miles to their days travel. They would really need to pick up the pace if they wanted to get there before the sun went down. 

"Well, good news, we're getting closer. Bad news, it's still gonna be another nine miles." He grinned, regardless of their situation, Gordon still wanted to find a bright side. "But, if we can at least get to the river where dinner's waiting, we can always set up camp there. It'll only throw us off a little, but we can make that up tomorrow."

With the desire to keep going, Gordon continued over the haphazard terrain, Alan close behind.

However, just a couple of miles later, slowly step by step Alan started to lag further behind his brother. His run and fast pace at the beginning of the day was catching up to him and he was starting to crash. To make it worse, he was straining his ears for any sign of water, and there was none. Plus the sun was already halfway behind the horizon, and a few stars had started to make their appearance. 

But he didn’t want to complain. He wanted to be able to keep up with his brother and do just as good as he was. But he was just so tired. 

“Gordon, I think we’re going to have to make camp soon. We’re almost out of sunlight.” 

Suppressing a groan at the truth that had plagued him for the last half hour, Gordon took a cursory view of their surroundings. Trees to their left, rock formations too far away to reach before the sun completed its descent, and open fields that left them exposed. It would have to do, though. 

"Alright," he pointed to the treeline. "We'll set up over there. Hang the food in one of the trees so nothing'll get it. You up for getting a fire started?"

Alan let out a sigh of relief and made his way to the tree line. “Alright, I’ll gather some wood and then get started on it. You going to put up the tent?” 

Alan set his bag down and pulled out the food which was itself packed in a bag that would keep animals from getting too close, but still it wasn’t fool proof, so he tied it to one of the climbing ropes they had brought and threw one end over a branch high above him, hoisting the bag high up into the air. 

Once the rope was secured he went on the hunt for branches and twigs he could use to start the fire. The fading light made it a bit difficult but they still had a couple of flashlights to give them a bit of light. 

Once he had his fuel, he cleared off a patch of grass and kneeled down to get started. 

He knew starting a fire with a flint was going to be tricky, but after about ten tries he was already getting a little frustrated. He sat back on his heels and looked up to see how Gordon was coming with the tent. 

The disk the size of a dinner plate had shifted in his hands for a full minute as Gordon tried to find Brains' activation switch. After that minute, he'd resorted to twisting the edges and prodding the center of it in hope of accidentally opening it. Still, it wouldn't budge, his frustration building with the lack of any obvious instructions. Had he missed something back on the island? It couldn't be this complicated to put up a tent. 

With a moderately defeated sigh, gordon tossed the disk at his feet, considering the possibility of just using the tarp and some rope to create a basic shelter. As the device hit, however, there was a whir of mechanisms, followed immediately by the expansion of the two person tent and a curse as it smacked into Gordon's face.

Alan couldn’t help but laugh as the tent brought Gordon to the ground. It took him a bit to catch his breath and calm down, but the scene had just been that funny. Light was quickly disappearing so he went back to trying to get the fire started. 

“If you’re done playing with the tent, why don’t you get some food and get it ready for the fire.” Alan grunted as he hit the flint against the piece of steel again. “Maybe that will make one of these sparks actually catch fire.” 

Absently rubbing at his face, Gordon pushed the tent off of him, grumbling and beginning his list of things to discuss at length with Brains. Thankfully, the pegs to hold the tent in place were easier to find and activate. At least it was better than his tarp shelter. As he heard the striking of the flint and steel once more, he knew figuring out how to pack the tent back up would have to wait. 

"Having your own trouble then?" He grinned as he untied the rope holding up the food and lowered it to his level. It didn't take him long to locate the enchilada package and tortilla chips. It was more than he wanted to use so soon, but they had no other choice. Without the river, their choices were limited. 

Replacing the food store to its higher level and tying off the cable, he stepped over to the dark pile of wood. His flashlight hit the pile and his brother's hands as they continued to send sparks. "Hmm, might need something a bit more flammable." The enchiladas were quickly tucked under his arm in order to free his hands to open the chips. He extracted a couple and held them out to Alan. "Try these - and before you say we shouldn't waste food, it's dark and I'd prefer not to eat cold food before we freeze."

Alan had collected some twigs and small branches for the fire as well as the driest patch of grass he could find. But the sparks from his flint just weren’t catching. 

After having laughed at Gordon and got back at it, he knew there just wasn’t time to waste, it was almost completely dark now. They needed the fire. 

He looked up at his brother offering one of the chips and shrugged. It had to be better than what he was using. He took the chip and broke it in half and laid it on the grass he’d been attempting to burn. 

Again he began hitting the flint to the steel, sparks giving flashes of light until one of those dots of light didn’t quite disappear. 

It had hit the chip and sat there, almost debating if it should keep going or not. Alan bent down and lightly blew on the small ember of light encouraging it. 

It seemed to take forever, Alan was starting to run out of breath trying to keep the dot of light alive when suddenly a small flame erupted from the dot. He whooped for joy and then went to work babying the flame and trying to make it bigger. 

It took some time, and they almost lost it more than once, but finally a proper fire was burning before them. 

Alan sat back as Gordon started the meal preparations--his stomach announcing loudly how hungry he was. “I hope starting a fire isn’t going to be this difficult every night.” He flexed his hands a bit--sore from gripping the flint and steel so tightly. 

Gordon inwardly cheered at the brilliance of processed starch deep fried in oils that burned so easily. They watched the orange glow radiate out around the small cooking pot and their campsite until the heat cut through the chill. 

"Well, we could try grabbing some more of that grass in the morning and let it dry out while we walk. As happy as I am that the chip worked, I'd hate to use more of our food." He set the packet of enchiladas into the pot with just enough water to steam the contents, placing a lid over it. 

“Yeah.” Alan nodded in agreement but didn’t say much else--the day finally catching up to him fully. He yawned as he watched the pot anticipating their meal--they had only stopped for a moment around lunch time and ate part of a meal bar. Once dinner was ready Alan ate it quietly while Gordon chatted away, and then made his way to the tent. 

The tent itself was small, just barely big enough for the two of them--which made him wonder if Scott and Virgil had used a similar tent when they had gone on their trip and just how they had managed. He couldn’t help but smile at the image in his head of Scott’s feet sticking out one end and them spooning each other inside. 

Inside the tent, it seemed even smaller and Alan wondered if he and Gordon would end up spooning each other in the night. However he just flopped down on his back and pulled down the flap that hung above him revealing a plastic covered window and the stars far above him. 

Nothing could relax him more than staring at the stars but Alan was so tired anyways that he would have fallen asleep without them. His last memory was of a shooting star across the sky and the thought that John was probably up there watching them from above. 

If it weren't for the chill, Gordon would have been happy to collapse on top of his sleeping bag, rather than inside. His shoulder pressed against Alan's, easily noting that he didn't receive any complaints. Good, they needed to get as much rest as possible. Of course his little brother would be the first one out. 

Unfortunately, Gordon continued to lay there, staring up at the sky and listening to the distant howls of animals he really didn't want to meet. Even still, there was no stopping the flutter of excitement that came with being out in the wilderness. This was his niche - nature, animals, life at its simplest. If Gordon didn't have International rescue, he knew he would be in the ocean, studying the unknown it held. 

Eventually, exhaustion took hold and his eyelids fell, the thoughts of multicolored fish and coral merging into his dreams. 


	2. Chapter 2

Alan wished he could say his sleep was deep and peaceful, but that was never going to be the case sleeping with Gordon. He wasn’t sure what time it was when his brother’s hand came down hard on his face, but it was dark and clouds had moved in covering the stars above them. 

He shoved the hand off of him and pulled himself into his sleeping bag in order to warm up a bit. He turned to his side away from his brother and fell back asleep again. 

He did his best to ignore the random kicks and other intrusions as he slept--at one point feeling both a leg and an arm on him. When he woke his brother was absent, always the first one awake of any of them. So Alan had been able to get a few hours of undisturbed sleep at least. 

The sun was shining brightly through the top of the tent and even once closing the flap it was still a bit too bright to fall back asleep so Alan crawled out of the tent and stood. He stretched a bit and then started looking around for his brother. 

"Good morning, sleepy head." Gordon beamed brightly, far too awake for anyone's tolerance, much less Alan's. He couldn't help it. The mornings were his favorite. Fortunately for them both, the time had allowed him a chance to scope out the surrounding woods to find a plethora of salmonberry bushes. He'd gathered enough of the fruit to fill the bag that had held his sleeping bag.

"Hope you're good with berries and half a protein bar for breakfast." Gordon didn't see the point in mentioning the chance for an egg breakfast. He just couldn't find the will to take the little blue ovals he'd found in a low hanging nest.

Gordon passed Alan a plate full of berries and bar. Coffee would've been ideal, but they couldn't risk losing any of their water for such a luxury. He popped a few of his own berries into his mouth before asking, "sleep okay?"

Alan rubbed at his eyes and took the plate but not before glancing at where the fire was the previous night. It had been stomped out and buried which meant no coffee. 

He sat down on the ground and started munching on the food Gordon had given him. It took him some time but the food did wake him up a bit. Once he was done, he grabbed the map from Gordon’s bag and took a good look at it. 

He found the ridges they had had to climb the previous day, and the river they were heading for. It was still a good four miles away, but they should be able to hike along the river for the day before having to start for the next one. 

“Are you going to fish when we get to the river or wait till tonight? We should be able to get there before it gets too late, it would probably be better if we did it sooner rather than later.” 

Glancing over his brother's shoulder, he followed the blue line up to the point they would need to be on the other side. He knew they would need to find the shallowest point in order to cross it. 

"We'll walk until we find a good place to cross. After that, we can take a break and catch some food." Another berry disappeared, "I think we should eat then. No need to cook as long as you're good with sashimi." The next river they would have to cross would be much smaller, limiting their chances of another fish dinner, but transporting the raw meat wouldn't do well for their health. 

"So, I think our goal for today is here," he pointed to a spot that would be a twenty-four mile trek. They could do it, but they would need to push and keep their break short. Well, short enough to catch a fish, gut it, and eat. Hopefully, today would work out in their favor and they'd not have to cover as much tomorrow.

Alan hummed a little at his brother’s plan. “I don’t mind eating the fish raw, but if we cooked it, it could travel a bit and we could have the leftovers for dinner or breakfast or something. Plus we have plenty of time. Even if we only went about fifteen to twenty miles today we’d still reach the goal on the fourth day.” 

He nodded in agreement, "Good plan, then! Wonder what Scott and Virgil are gonna be eating. Certainly not fresh salmon." There was a great deal of satisfaction in that idea. They were likely stuck with the same rations he and Alan had been given, or worse. Thankfully, Grandma's cooking didn't travel well, but that didn't mean she couldn't have packed some in their big brothers' cooler.

They quickly finished eating their breakfast, Gordon going about getting the tent collapsed while Alan finished waking up. He nearly cursed Brains for making such a high tech piece of equipment so difficult to understand, but eventually it came together and was shoved with vigor into his pack. Campsite clear, they began their journey to the river. 

  
  


Alan made sure they took a bit of a slower pace than they had the previous day. There was really no need to rush and he wasn’t quite as dedicated to the whole getting there before day five as Gordon was. 

But otherwise traveling with his brother was one of the best things he could be doing right now. They took turns leading and stopped for a short break about halfway to the river. They made it there by noon and Alan was glad of it. The water looked good enough to swim in, if it was a bit warmer at least. 

Now was the task of finding a place to cross. It was a pretty big river and the current seemed pretty strong, though they could see the fish were plentiful so lunch and dinner were sure to be good. 

“Are you sure we’re going to just be able to walk across this thing?” They walked along the side of the river for at least a mile now, but no sign of a shallow passage. 

The river looked swollen from its usual level, Gordon catching the tall grasses that had been swallowed up by the water. A storm may have rolled through further upstream. Regardless, crossing the river would be a bit more treacherous than he'd anticipated. 

"We don't have much of a choice. I have a feeling it's just going to get worse the further we go." Gordon stopped and turned to watch the spot they were currently walking next to. From the swirls on the surface, he could tell where the water brushed against logs or rocks. He could use those to rest if the need arose. "I think we should go one at a time. Use one of the ropes for safety. Dibs on going first!" 

Water, no matter how dangerous, would always intrigue him. He wasn't stupid, though. He knew Alan would have him if anything happened. "Here, hold this and I'll go across. Then it's all you."

Alan looked down at the end of the rope he had been given. “Uh, Gordon, don’t you think it’d be safer if we put on our climbing harnesses and secured the rope to us?” 

Alan looked up to see what his brother’s thought was on the idea, but he was already in the shallows of the water feeling his way across. Frowning Alan wrapped the rope securely around his arm and hand so he couldn’t drop it easily. 

“Gordon, come back here.” 

Gordon wasn't hearing anything but the bubbling of the water around him. He wasn't sure what to call it - instinct, maybe - his body seeming to become one with the flow. Movements of his boots over the slippery stones was slow and deliberate, Gordon leaning to the side to provide as little resistance as possible. Once the water was up to his thigh, he looked up and back, noting he was halfway. Good. It wasn't as deep as it looked, but he didn't dare underestimate the pull on his limbs. 

Something bumped into his legs, making him wobble to a stop, righting himself before looking down to see what it was. He grinned, reaching down to grab the fish and pulling it free of the water. 

"Lunch! Easy peasy!" Gordon allowed himself a moment of giddiness, clinging to the salmon as it bucked against him. "Whoa, Philly roll! Stop wiggling!"

Spirits high, Gordon made the rest of the trek over, climbing awkwardly up the bank and setting their meal - don't consider it anything but food or he wouldn't be able to do what was needed - on the grass. He readjusted the rope as he turned to find Alan still on the other side. 

"Alright! Your turn! Nice and slow!"

Alan pinched his lips and looked quite a bit like their eldest sibling for a moment as he looked around him. He was hoping to find something he could tie his end of the rope to--though he hated the idea of having to leave the rope behind, it would be something they’d have to return for before heading home. But there was nothing in the immediate vicinity to do so. 

He tightened his hold on the rope and frowning in concentration he took his first step into the water. 

The water was cold, even through his waterproof boots, though another step in and the water would be above them and the cold water would be seeping into his socks. He took another step the strength of the current becoming stronger as he made his way in. 

Each step was done carefully and deliberately. He wasn’t necessarily afraid of taking a ride down the river, but it wasn’t something he really wanted to do. It wasn’t all that warm out, only about twenty centigrade which wasn’t too bad, but if he got completely soaked it would be quite miserable. 

Another step and the water was to his knees. Alan wasn’t that much shorter than Gordon, but sometimes every inch mattered. By the time he reached the middle of the river the water was almost to his hips which was causing a bit more of an issue with him keeping his balance. 

He paused for a moment to strengthen his position and readjust the rope on his arm--it was biting into his skin a bit. Once that was done he took another step, first making sure his right foot was secure before lifting up his left. 

However, just as he lifted his left foot up and put all his weight on his right something shifted beneath it. It wasn’t much, some sediment under his heel, but it was enough to cause his foot to slip out from under him and his head to go under the water. 

He surfaced a moment later spluttering and clinging to the rope which was the only thing keeping him from being carried away with the current. The water however kept wanting to go over his head, so breathing was an iffy situation. He tried to grab at the rope but his hands were wet and he couldn’t get a good grip on it. In one of his attempts to pull himself out, the rope he had wound around his arm had loosened and when his hand slipped off the rope, it was like he had fallen from the face of a cliff. 

The water swept him off down the river. 

At first, Gordon had wanted to laugh at the sight of Alan being dunked under the water, but it was fleeting. He was already sprinting down the bank, his eyes flicking to the blonde who would emerge from the water only to dunk back down again. He bounded off a fallen tree, trying to gain as much distance in front of his brother as he could while looking for any possible way to halt their progress downstream. It was a dangerous juggling act where one wrong move could send his leg snapping in an unseen whole. 

Unfortunately, the water was faster, Alan slowly pulling away as more obstacles kept Gordon from making any progress to cut off his brother. "Alan! Get to the side!" That would have to be his only hope of helping the astronaut. So he kept running.

For the first few moments there was panic.

Alan struggled to stay above the water and fought against the current pulling him along. But as he did he remembered what Virgil had told him during one of his training sessions. 

“Alan, you’re a good swimmer but you’re not Gordon. He’s got like this sixth sense about water that none of us can explain. You can’t just jump in and expect to understand things like he does. That’s why we’re going through this again.--” 

With this in mind he took one last breath and then turned to swim with the current instead of against it. This made his progress down river much faster but at the same time he had more control of where he was and was slowly able to make his way to the side of the river. 

It took some effort and the river bank wasn’t exactly the best along this stretch of the river, but Alan was eventually able to find a clear section where he could crawl out of the main current, and onto the shore where he flopped half out of the water breathing hard from his efforts. 

Grass and mud plus water meant Gordon slid to a stop next to his brother, his heart pounding in his ears. He immediately caught the quick rise and fall of Alan's chest as he reached to take hold of his torso and pull him the rest of the way onto the bank. 

"Al! Alan, you okay, bro?" He kept a hand on his brother's chest, not willing to break the contact in case anything else were to happen. 

Alan’s breathing didn’t slow anytime soon--water really was one of the worst things to fight against. 

He slapped his brother’s hand away, rolled over to his side and coughed up some of the water he had swallowed and crawled a little more onto dry land before pushing himself up on his knees. 

“D-damnit Gordon.” 

Worry was his initial response as he tried to keep next to Alan, his brow pinching slightly at the harshness he heard. Gordon was used to the adrenaline spike that tended to hit survivors, but rarely did he hear it from his brothers. 

"Easy, Alan, lemme get your pack." He went ahead and grabbed the straps of the watertight backpack, ready to lift its weight away.

Alan scrambled to his feet and away from his brother. “S-stop it.” He was still breathing a little harder than normal but being soaked from head to foot made him look quite pathetic. Added to that his fists were clenched and trembling a bit, either from the cold or anger it was hard to tell. 

“T-this is your fault!” He wasn’t looking at his brother at first, but looked up and locked eyes with him. “You didn’t even ask me my opinion before wading into the water. I had no choice but to follow you! We should have secured the line to each other with our harnesses and then you could have pulled me in, but no I barely had time to wrap the rope around my arm before you were already knee deep! On top of that you should have realized that the water would be higher on me and harder to balance on the rocks!

“You don’t think when it comes to water you just dive in head first and I about drowned because of it! Not only that, but we’re now, what, three miles off course!? We can forget about getting to the goal early now.” 

He was breathing heavy again after his rant. He waited for Gordon to say something but when he didn’t he walked past him and back up the river and toward their planned campsite for the night, dripping the whole way. 

Shock hit first, followed by a gut twisting nausea brought on by guilt and failure. The day had started so well and he'd been so sure of his plan to cross the river. Why hadn't he stopped the think, to consider the fact Alan might not be as up to every aspect of this trip? 

Feeling about as low as he had in years, he got to his feet and jogged after Alan, determined to make things right if it killed him. "Al, I'm sorry, just -" he slowed his pace as he caught up. "Hold up, just let me help-"

Alan stopped and turned making Gordon stop short. He didn’t look at him, but his fists were still clenched as water dripped from his hair. “No. I don’t need your help! Just leave me alone!” 

He turned and if anything sped up his pace. 

“All I’ve done all my life is follow you like a little puppy and that’s how you’ve treated me as well. We’re supposed to be a team, equal partners, not AquaGordon and his sidekick.” 

That wasn't true. Not on this trip anyway. Gordon had made it a point to take the kid gloves off. He'd been witness to so much of Alan's babying by the others, he'd been determined to finally let his brother have his own freedom. Maybe that was why Gordon hadn't gone into detail about securing the rope to himself. Alan should've known. Shouldn't he? 

Currently, the astronaut was in reaction mode and unreachable, so Gordon tried to let the comments roll off his back, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to analyze for the future. Thinking back, he and Alan were always the closest when it came to hyjinx on the island, but rarely in training. They had their moments where they could coordinate, but it was always on Scott or Virgil's terms. Gordon was so used to working with a brother who could anticipate a situation and had already planned ahead. That's why he and Virgil worked so well. 

Suddenly, he felt a bit of himself slip as he realized what Alan might actually need on this trip. Gordon had planned on letting the kid take charge in the climbing aspects as he was so much more like Scott who climbed mountains for fun. That plan hadn't changed, but he would need to be more vigilant in recognizing when Alan might be in over his head- not excluding the most recent events. 

So with silent resignation, Gordon followed at a safer distance. With any luck, he might be able to lighten the mood tomorrow. Tonight, fresh fish or not, he would let Alan dictate. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

They reached a good stopping point just before sunset. Alan pulled his extra clothes out of his bag and disappeared to change, laying his wet clothes out to dry. He then took the tent from Gordon’s bag and erected it without issue, grabbed his sleeping back and retreated inside it. He had no interest in seeing or talking to Gordon, he was still mad at him. He just wanted to sleep. 

When he woke the next morning he was still a little tired, but nice and warm. He sat up and found some of the heat packs they had packed broken up and in his sleeping bag with him. 

It had to have been Gordon. He took in a deep breath and let it out. He hadn’t forgotten what had happened the day before, but he was starting to feel a bit guilty about what he had said. He still blamed Gordon for it, but he could have easily refused to go until Gordon had put his harness on and secured the line, so it was probably partially his fault as well. 

He climbed out of the tent and looked around for Gordon. He was sitting by the fire cooking breakfast. Alan looked away and made his way over sitting down opposite of his brother. 

Gordon simply smiled to his brother before passing him a plate of berries. "Oatmeal'll be ready in just a second." He went back to stirring the pot of protein-enriched hot cereal, giving his little brother a cursory glance to make sure he was alright. Gordon had found him shivering in his sleeping bag when he had gone in for the night. The heat packs wouldn't typically be necessary, but this early into their trip, he wasn't willing to risk the kid getting sick. 

After making sure Alan was comfortable, Gordon spent a while laying next to him in his own bag, thinking through what had happened and what he would do about it. He still felt terrible, the rehashing of the event doing little to make him feel better. Eventually, he'd fallen asleep, his dreams plagued by a different, more terrifying version of Alan's river ride.

Once the oatmeal was thick enough, he poured it into two collapsible bowls and handed one to Alan. "Sleep okay?" 

Alan shrugged and took the bowl from his brother. He ate the oatmeal slowly, he needed to say something to Gordon, but he just wasn’t quite sure what. 

It was quiet for some time, just the crackling of the fire between them. Alan worked on scraping every bit of oatmeal out of the bowl before he finally looked up at Gordon. “I’m sorry. For what I said yesterday. I was just--I don’t know, but it’s not--It’s not completely your fault. I could have refused to cross until you listened to me or something.” Alan looked down at his fist on his knee. “I just want to decide things together, not just one lead and one follow. We’re a team aren’t we?” 

Oatmeal forgotten, he set it on the ground in front of him, one hand running through his unkempt hair. "I'm sorry, too. I should've checked with you first. I just get so caught up when it comes to water. I'm so used to Virgil already knowing how to deal with me, I tend to forget not everyone's as adept at it. Scott can't stand it sometimes." Gordon laughed sheepishly. "One time, he ended up dragging me out of the ocean 'cause he thought I was drowning. I might not have helped, though. He wasn't too appreciative when I told him I thought he needed the practice." The memory was still one of his favorites for their eldest. Scott had paid him back with a mandatory climbing and free fall session, which surprisingly ended up as a time for them to bond. 

Pushing the memory away, he looked up at Alan, hopeful that they could fix the rest of their trip. "I promise, we do this together from now on. No more making decisions on our own."

A small smile spread across Alan’s face. “Agreed.” Alan stood and stretched a bit. “Speaking of yesterday, did you do something with my wet clothes? I left them on that bush, but they’re not there… and speaking of--where did you put my backpack?” 

Gordon blinked, suddenly processing a question he hadn't expected. The answer wasn't sitting well with him either. "I thought you put it up… where did you leave it?" 

“I changed my clothes and grabbed my sleeping bag and went to bed. I just left my bag where I had dropped it. Are you sure you didn’t move it somewhere else?” Alan moved toward the bush where he had laid his clothes. 

There was no reason to panic. Maybe it had been shoved under the bushes and they just couldn't see it. Maybe the food was still inside. Even if it wasn't, they could deal. It would just mean a change in priorities to finding food rather than making it to their brothers' camp in two days. 

They were both searching around the area, hoping to find any evidence as to where the pack had gone. Eventually, they discovered a pile of material that was the remains of a shirt. The pants weren't much further, thankfully in better shape than the rest. Gordon's stomach plummeted when they discovered some of Alan's carabiners in the tall grasses.

"This isn't good."

Alan groaned and flopped down in the grass a few of his carabiners in his hand. “This is my fault. I should have put my bag up before going to bed. Now we’ve lost half our food and we’ll need to spend half the day tracking down my climbing gear or we’ll never make it to the goal.

“I thought this trip was gonna be fun and easy, but not anymore.” 

Optimism was his comfort blanket that he depended on in moments of stress and Gordon wanted nothing more than to tell his little brother not to worry, that they would be okay if they were extra careful. Unfortunately, there was information screaming in his brain that something worse had been lost than food. Worse than climbing equipment. 

"Al," Gordon tried to keep his tone calm as he spoke. "The transmitter. You don't happen to have it in your pocket, do you?" He clearly remembered putting it in Alan's pack, wanting the younger of them to be monitored in case they were separated. 

Alan’s eyes widened slowly and then he was on his feet and running past more of his equipment following the path of destruction. He vaulted over some brush and skidded to a stop. 

A black bear as tall as he was on all fours, was walking away while tearing through Alan’s bag looking for the food. 

Finally freeing the food, the bear dropped the backpack and continued to make his way deeper into the woods. 

Their food was lost, but there was still hope that the transmitter was still in the bag or somewhere nearby. Alan slowly made his way toward the discarded bag and could see the transmitter in the grass not far away. 

A smile broke out but before he could even take one step toward it, a black bird swooped down and nabbed the transmitter. “No! Stupid Bird!” 

Gordon slowly came up beside him, his eyes following the ascent of the bird until it flew above the treetops and out of sight. For a long moment, neither blonde moved. Gordon wasn't sure he even breathed as the weight of their new situation rained down on him. 

They were officially alone. No communications. No way for their brothers to track them if something went wrong. With any luck, John would notice an irregularity to their travel and use Thunderbird 5's thermal imaging to find them. 

But then, there were so many different heat signatures in the area. That bear included. Would his brother be able to pinpoint them so easily?

A deliberate intake of air and Gordon let it out slowly. He couldn't panic. They were still okay. No one was injured. They'd just lost a majority of their food and a way to call for help. There were other ways if the need arose. 

Another breath and he squared his shoulders. "Alright, not the end of the world. We just need to be extra careful. We can do that."

A grin broke out on Alan’s face as he turned to face Gordon. “Well, I guess we really are trying to survive out here. It’s a real adventure.” 

He put a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he went to see if there was anything left in the destroyed bag. “Let’s collect what we can and reassess our resources and route. We’ll probably need to eat from the river today and tomorrow and save what we can from your bag for when we hit the mountain. It would probably be a good idea to collect as many of those berries as possible as well. I’m still not too fond of the idea of killing and skinning a squirrel.” 

Gordon chuckled at the drastic change from frantic pursuit to full on acceptance of their situation. Virgil or Scott would have been pissed. "Sounds like a plan! Hope Winnie the Pooh back there left us some."

Leaving Alan to the task of searching through his pack and the surroundings, Gordon went to work retracing his steps to the berry bushes he'd found the day before after Alan had gone to bed. It didn't take long to locate the bushes that appeared to have been cleared on one side. Under some of the more crowded greenery, he'd found untouched fruit, too difficult for the bear to reach. Handfuls of the pale red and orange berries were plucked and placed into his bag, his heart rate returning to its usual steady beat as he realized they were better off than he'd thought.

One more dive into the bushes would do it, but as he reached for another branch, something dark shot out and latched itself to his forearm, jerking wildly as it fought the intruding appendage. Gordon instinctively pulled back, the berries falling to the ground as his other hand came up to take hold of the snake. It took far less effort to remove it than he expected, tossing the snake as far as he could once it was free. He'd seen it well enough to know what kind it was. A garter. Not deadly, but not without its own special qualities. Right now, he was dealing with the shock of his own stupidity, sitting unceremoniously on the ground as he waited for his heart to stop its hectic beating in his chest.

"Holy crap -" Gordon lifted the affected arm, which shook with the adrenaline still coursing through him. Two moderately sized holes sluggishly bubbled with red as it trailed down his arm, an angry red hue forming around them as the neurotoxin began to work it's way into his skin. He knew he would be fine. Nothing to worry about other than some swelling and itching, but that didn't stop him as he called out for some assistance. "H-hey, Alan?"

It had taken Alan quite a few minutes to hunt down most of his stuff. The bear hadn’t been interested in his climbing equipment, just the food, but in its efforts to get the food had flung everything everywhere. 

The cord he stowed his carabringers, and other small loose equipment had been broken and the pieces were everywhere. He was able to find about half of this equipment and he hoped it would be enough to get them to where their brothers waited on them. 

The bear had had no interest in the ropes or his shoes, so at least they wouldn’t be short there, it was more the safety equipment he was missing. 

He made his way slowly back to the camp and dumped his armful of items next to Gordon’s bag. He had just sat down to look through Gordon’s things when he heard his brother. 

His voice sounded a little off and panic shot him to his feet wondering if the bear had returned, or if there had been another one they hadn’t known about. He followed his brother’s voice--having grabbed the animal deterrent devices as he left--and found his brother on the ground shaking pretty badly. 

“Gordon! Are you alright? What happened?” He glanced around looking for signs of the bear, but the area seemed fairly peaceful. 

He felt like an idiot, both in recklessness and reaction. He should've been more careful, especially with their new predicament. Now, he was sitting in the woods, adrenaline and shock making him feel dizzy, and there was Alan, looking wide eyed at the area around them. 

Gordon waved his unaffected arm as he gave his brother a half cocked grin. "Sorry, I, uh, I'm okay. Just got bit by a snake. Thing about gave me a heart attack." Harmless or not, though, his forearm still pulsed with the ache of the neurotoxin. "Please tell me we didn't lose the first aid kit?" He held up the bleeding wound for emphasis.

“Gordon.” Alan dropped down to his knees and took Gordon’s arm in his hands. “You realize how lucky you are that there aren’t any venomous snakes in Alaska?” He tisked as he rotated his arm one way and then another. “What did you do, rip the snake off? You’re lucky I did find the first aid kit. Almost missed it, the bear had tossed it into a bush.” 

With another sigh Alan stood and held his hand out. “Come on, let’s get you back to camp. This day has just been too much already.” 

Gordon laughed wearily in agreement as he took the offered hand and made it to his feet. His nerves were already coming back down and leaving a sense of gratitude that Alan was right. This could have been much worse if they'd been put on any other continent. 

They made it back to camp, the berries tossed by his still-open pack. Gordon went about cleaning the punctures with the water they had yet to open, while Alan went to work pulling out various bandages and some antiseptic ointment. Another few minutes and his arm was expertly wrapped, the tingling sensation slowly fading away.

"Thanks. Should be good to go now." Gordon glanced at the campsite. "Let's get packed and then we can check the map to see where we're gonna go."

Alan nodded. “We won’t be able to go as far today, but maybe we can make it up tomorrow--assuming nothing else happens.” He smiled at his brother as he packed up the tent and went to work putting the fire out properly. 

Once that was done, he helped Gordon repack his bag adding in his own equipment. They weren’t too bad off since they always took extra with them, they might have just enough between the both of them to get over most obstacles. 

But first, they had to decide their path. “Okay, we’re between the two rivers at the moment. Definitely need to get to the next one before dark. Personally, I’d be fine waiting to cross it in the morning--with our harnesses and ropes secured.” 

"Sounds good to me," Gordon pulled his pack on, feeling the slight extra weight of his brother's gear. "We've got about one meal bar between the both of us left and plenty of berries. That should get us to the river and we can try for some more fish."

With a plan in place, the two set out once more. Gordon took the preemptive step of keeping his sonic transmitter in the palm of his hand as they went. They couldn't afford the time it would take to get one out if a bear or moose showed up. They had no way of contacting their brothers should something happen and help wouldn't arrive for another three day. That thought was enough to dampen Gordon's usual optimism and he hoped things would start to look a little better for them. 

OoOoOoO 

Scott and Virgil had picked a beautiful place to camp out. Scott of course would have preferred to have climbed up the mountain at their backs a bit and tried to sell Virgil on the view he would have, but he was out voted by both his younger siblings. Instead they were on the shore of a lake, Thunderbird Two parked in a clearing nearby just in case they were needed. 

Virgil hadn’t hesitated to set up his easel and had started sketching almost before they had fully unpacked his bird. Scott didn’t mind though. He enjoyed setting up camp and then relaxing and watching his brother. 

They were on the third day of their trip. According to John, Alan and Gordon were on the right track after a bit of a detour they assumed was because of an animal. Breakfast had been a few hours ago, and it wasn’t quite late enough for lunch. Virgil was once again at his easel--this time his paints were out--humming to himself. Scott had just changed into his trunks to go and take a swim in the crystal blue water of the lake when his comm went off. 

“Hey, John. Little early for an update, aren't you?” Scott smiled at his brother’s torso as he swung his arm over his head to get Virgil’s attention. “I thought you weren’t going to call again until this evening--unless--nothing’s wrong is there?” Scott shoulders tensed at the sudden realization of what an early call from John could mean. 

“Calm down. I’m sure they’re fine. However, I can no longer track them.” 

“Why not? Brains said that tracker was indestructible.” 

“Oh, it is. It’s still transmitting.” 

“I’m not sure I follow.” 

“I was watching the signal--the radio’s been a bit quiet this morning--when their position suddenly changed, in altitude.” 

“They fell?” 

“No, they went up.” 

“A tree?” 

“Further than that. Unless they grew wings my guess is a bird got a hold of it and took off.” Scott blinked at his brother and then laid his face in his hand as he handed the comm to Virgil who had walked up to them. 

Leave it to their kid brothers to turn a simple camping trip into a stress-inducing nightmare for the eldest. Virgil, however, found solace in knowing how capable Gordon and Alan were. They would be careful and take their time. They didn't have a reason to rush when their main means for communication was gone. 

"Hey, John. Any chance you can monitor their heat signatures?" He watched as Scott took to slowly pacing in front of him.

"Already tried, but there are lots of large bodies out there. I could easily get stuck watching a couple of bears or moose." John frowned, his own frustration peeking through. "We should be able to find them once they stop for camp and set up a fire."

That was something at least. "That'll have to do then. They're smart. If they know the tracker's gone, they'll try to be as cautious as possible." He clapped Scott on the shoulder to help ease some of his worry. "But if it makes you feel better, we can go ahead and get the gear set to go look for them if we suspect something's wrong."

Scott had been thinking the same thing--should they go and find their wayward brothers? John seemed pretty confident that it was just a bird, but how did the bird get a hold of it? They could have been attacked? Or maybe they just dropped it as they were going through their bags? Maybe a bear got a hold of one of the bags and it fell out that way? There were any number of reasons as to how they could have lost the tracker. 

Scott paused when Virgil put his hand on his shoulder and let out a large sigh. “No. We’ve got to have faith in them. That’s the whole point of letting them do this. They know what to do in an emergency. If they get into trouble, they’ll figure out a way to call for help.” Scott turned to John. “But i do want you on the lookout for a fire tonight. I don’t think I’m going to be able to relax until I know for sure they’re okay.” 

Scott let a small smile cross his lips as he looked over to Virgil. “Do you think Dad was beside himself like this when we were on our trip?” 

"Oh, I have no doubt." Virgil grinned, "He was just a lot better at hiding it." His mind went back to the moment he and Scott had finally made it to the camp. They'd been exhausted, hungry and barely tolerating each other. Dad had just smiled and waved them over to the chairs already set up, handing them each a plate full of steak, sauteed potatoes and vegetables. It was the best meal they'd ever thought possible, regardless how simple. As they went over everything that had happened on their five day trip, everything suddenly seeming much more humorous than it was. Dad had just sat there with a smile. Virgil now wondered just what had been going through their father's head that whole time. 

Checking his watch, Virgil sighed. They still had another six hours until sundown. That meant six hours with an anxious Scott. They needed a distraction. "Hey, how about a hike while we wait?"

Scott opened his mouth to ask his brother about the painting he had been working on so diligently, but then closed it--he wasn’t about to let the offer slip by so easily. 

He looked down at his trunks and nodded. “Just let me change, and then we’re off. And we’re going to hike all six hours, you hear? We’ll get back just in time to start our own fire. And before you say anything--” Scott leaned over and poked Virgil’s midsection with a grin. “You’ve done nothing but sit and paint the past three days, need to work off that painter’s tummy you know.” 

"Oh, har har, let's see who's poking who when we get back and I'm too tired to cook anything decent for dinner." He gave Scott a playful shove towards the tents. The sooner they were off, the sooner he wouldn't have to deal with a worrying big brother. Gordon and Alan would be okay. He was sure of it

OoOoOoO 

With a few quick strikes of the flint and steel into the fistful of dried grass and gentle breaths to encourage it, a flame began to creep into the pile of twigs and sticks. Gordon was grateful for Alan's increasing skill with the rudimentary tool, his stomach flipping angrily with the need for food. The fish he'd caught from the river they'd set up next to was still flopping weakly and the aquanaut was aware he would need to get started with ending its misery. 

"Too bad we don't have any asparagus and lemon." That admission did nothing for his appetite. "Oh, and garlic herb butter. Don't mean to hate on fresh fish, but a little seasoning wouldn't hurt."

Alan laughed a little as he poked the fire and added more wood. “I’d figure you’d prefer a more natural taste. I think it tastes just fine with some pepper and salt. Maybe a little oil to keep it moist.” Dusting his hands off he stood and dug into Gordon’s pack to get the small grill to set up over the flames. “Speaking of food. What are we going to do after tomorrow morning?” He looked behind him at the shadow that loomed over them. It wasn’t a full mountain, just the foot of one that ran between two valleys. “It’s easily going to take us two days to get over that and to the lake where Scott and Virgil are.” 

Gordon didn't have an easy answer. Although, nothing they ever did was really easy. They were in the middle of Alaska with limited supplies, on purpose. Who does that? Tracys. That's who. Bunch of adrenaline junkies when they weren't out saving lives. And maybe that wasn't a complete analysis of what was happening - bonding with his brother was an added bonus - but it did land on way too many habits they all shared. So, go climb a mountain with a third of your gear missing and no food. Perfect.

"Well," Gordon began with more optimism than he felt. "I'll try to catch another fish tonight or in the morning. We can cook up, eat what we can and save some in one of the insulated bags. That should keep it warm for a little while." A frown formed with his next idea. "If we see any geese or small ground animals, we might need to try catching one. They'll be easier to bring with us alive than the fish." 

He quietly began cleaning their current fish as he let Alan digest that bit of information. It wouldn't be fun, but it could potentially get them both to the camp sooner rather than later after they'd passed out from hunger and exhaustion. 

Alan swallowed the lump in his throat. He wasn’t against eating meat or anything--he actually quite liked it, especially if Virgil cooked it--he’d just rather not know where said meat came from. Fish was different though he couldn’t quite say why. 

He turned and poked at the fire to try and get it going strong. “You know i was thinking. The path we’re going on, it’s pretty straight forward, a bit of climbing but a bit roundabout if you think about it. We could take a more straightforward path, but it would mean more climbing and with our limited gear that could be an issue, but it may be with the risk.” 

A shorter path meant less need for food and water, but with the added danger of a climb, he almost wanted to avoid that option. However, a longer hike meant risking hunger and fatigue. Plus, they'd be late to meet their brothers and that would lead to Scott and Virgil coming to look for them. That put them in harm's way, too. It was a choice Gordon wasn't comfortable making, but it had to be. 

"As much as I hate the idea of climbing with what we have, I think that would be our best bet." Gordon skewered a filet onto one of the sharpened sticks to be positioned over the fire. "We would have to take it slow, but if it gets us to the camp before Scott drags Virgil over the mountain looking for us, I like it."

Alan nodded as he took the fish and laid it on the grill to cook. “I was thinking the same. We could even climb separately, I could go first, set the anchors and then pull up your bag and then you go up. It would still be faster than our original plan, but a little safer than both of us going at the same time.” 

A second filet found its way on the grill, their smell filling up the air around them causing Alan’s stomach to rumble a bit. “Maybe you could look for more of those berries before we leave the river too. You’re pretty good at finding them.”

Gordon laughed nervously as he rubbed the bandage that covered the mildly swollen arm. It didn't hurt much, but it was still enough to make him hesitate before sticking his hand inside the shrubbery. "Right, I'll remember to check first. It is nice how abundant they are, though. Might even be able to find more along the way." Optimism at its best. "Sounds good with the separate climbing. I could stay at the bottom for counter balance. If you fall, it won't be far." 

Night seemed to consume their campsite a short time later, but the glow from the fire was warm and comforting as they sat around it eating a hearty meal of grilled fish. As grateful as he was for the berries, Gordon was hoping they would find something new, but it was just another day or two. He could make due. He wouldn't complain if they discovered some wild peas or a field of oat grass, though.

They went to bed soon after their dinner and slept heavily, neither moving much through the night. The next morning Gordon caught another fish and they ate lightly saving as much as they could for later. 

Once camp was packed up they made their way toward the cliffs. They were only about five miles away and upon reaching them they looked up at the almost sheer wall of rock. 

“Well, it’s not completely vertical, so that’s good.” Alan smiled nervously. The cliff wasn’t at a ninety degree angle, but it wasn’t any less than eighty either. “This is going to be a tougher climb than I thought. You sure you’ll be okay? I’ll make the path, you’ll just have to follow.” 

Gordon smiled, throwing an arm over his little brother's shoulders. "Hey, you've got the hard part here. I've got all the confidence in the world that you'll set up a line that Scott would be proud of." He gave Alan's shoulder a squeeze before dropping his arm to get into their pack. "Harness up,Sprout!" He handed the interlocked straps to his brother, allowing him to get set up while Gordon went back to pulling gear out. 

Alan nodded with a smile. He loved this kind of challenge and kinda wished Scott was there with them. But they were on their own and Alan had to be sure everything was perfect so that Gordon would have no issue in getting up himself. 

He put on his harness and then helped Gordon lay out the equipment, slowly hanging it off of himself so that he had easy access to them. Once he was loaded up with most of the contents of Gordon’s bag, he turned to face the wall. 

There were plenty of handholds going up, just not in a straight path. Plus he had to worry about where he set his anchors. Gordon would belay him as he went so if he did fall it would only be a few feet. Then once he was at the top, he’d throw down a rope so he could pull up the bag so Gordon wouldn’t have to worry about it. Then, the rope would go back down, this time for Gordon and Alan would act as an anchor at the top so his brother wouldn’t fall to his death. 

If they succeeded, they’d only be around 30 miles from their brothers. 

With one foot on the lowest rock Alan propelled himself up to grab another one just out of his reach. He brought his foot up to a closer foothold and hung there for a moment while he inserted the first anchor and looped the rope through it. Once the anchor was set he reached for the next rock and another, slowly climbing while inserting anchors every few feet. 

Watching someone do something dangerous was always more difficult for the aquanaut who tended to throw himself at the problem head first. He trusted Alan to be safe and get the job done, but that didn't mean he enjoyed waiting at the bottom of a mountain. 

The half hour mark ticked by and Alan had become more of a bug slowly scurrying up a wall, making Gordon's stomach turn at the height between the teen and the ground. A fall would be fatal if the older brother wasn't prepared to halt it.

It took Alan over an hour to make it to the top. He pulled himself up over the edge and flopped onto his back. It had been awesome. There had been a couple moments he had thought he had worked himself into a corner, but he was able to keep going with some tricks Scott had showed him once. Still his hands ached, but it was a good ache. 

After a moment’s rest Alan rolled over and peered over the edge and down at his brother. He smiled and waved before disappearing again and gathering up his rope. He threw it down and waited for Gordon’s signal that his backpack was ready to go up. 

After a good couple of minutes of hauling the backpack up the cliff face Alan turned to set up his anchor point for belaying his brother from the top of the cliff. Unlike some of the set paths he and his brother have gone on, there were no bolted anchor points at the cliff so he would have to make his own.

There was a tree and a boulder not far from the edge that he could use so he set to work pulling some extra rope from the bag and setting up the anchors he would use. Then he rigged up his setup to belay Gordon from the top. 

Once he was strapped in, he took a seat on the edge of the cliff and threw the rest of the rope down to Gordon and waited for his signal. 

With his harness secure, Gordon attached the rope and glanced up at the task before him. He let out a steadying breath, hands on his hips to calm his nerves before waving the signal. When the line grew taut, he stepped up to the cliff wall and began the climb. 

His arm wound had been ignorable up to this point, but as Gordon found himself a quarter of the way up, the burn of abused muscles forced him to take a break. He was grateful Alan had done most of the hard work setting the anchors, otherwise this trip would've been far more excruciating. 

Fingers flexed as Gordon rotated his wrist, trying to work out the ache before he could continue. Once it had died down to a mild annoyance once more, he began his ascent, hoping he hadn't attracted too much concern from Alan. Know his little brother, he probably expected the short breaks in the climb. No more delays if he could help it, though, Gordon far too aware how limited they would be if they got stuck climbing at night. He certainly wasn't comfortable with that idea.

Alan was actually enjoying the moment. He was sitting on a high cliff, with a nice view, the sun behind him and his brother slowly but steadily making his way up. Belaying wasn’t really hard work. His brother was doing the climbing Alan was just pulling up the extra rope and was there if Gordon should slip. So he was able to spend a few moments gazing at the view in front of him. 

However, Scott would have scolded him for doing so. Belaying wasn’t hard, but it was important. While there were belay devices that would break automatically, Scott had allowed them to take just a simple tubular belay device. This meant that it was completely in Alan’s hands to keep the rope from slipping should his brother’s weight pull on it. 

But Alan was looking at the view and occasionally down at his brother. Gordon had taken a short break, and even from that distance Alan could see him flexing his wrist and worried a little if Gordon was going to be okay. But his brother went back to climbing and didn’t seem to have much trouble. 

Alan had just looked back up at the scenery when it happened. 

Gordon’s yell and the sudden tightening of the rope reached him at the same time. He held down on the break rope to keep Gordon from falling which pulled him a little off of the edge of the cliff. 

“Gordon!” Alan called down to his brother unable to see if he was alright. 

He saw his brother’s head look up and give him the thumbs up. Alan let out the breath he had been holding and then fell. 

Gordon had thought his heart would rupture with how hard it beat when he'd lost his footing and fell. Alan had been there, though, an anchor to keep him from falling too far. Gordon had held tight to the rope until his heart rate had returned to a normal beat for exertion, scanning the rock face to find a good groove to restart his climb. He found one, fingers searching the indent and adjusting their hold to help remove some of the weight from the rope.

Something went wrong. 

All of his weight was suddenly on those fingers, wrenching them away as he fell. Gordon's mind screamed for him to stop, grab something to slow his rapid descent, but everything was moving too fast. The gray stone slid over his hands, toes kicking out to find purchase. 

And then he hit. An outcrop he'd climbed over earlier caught him, a heart stopping crack sounding from his leg before pain blossomed like sharp daggers through his calf. The impact, although it had slowed his fall, sent him headlong down until he felt the rope finally snap, jarring him to a complete and painful stop. He swung back into the rock wall, his shoulder taking the brunt of it, his leg screaming with him as his voice echoed around the valley. 

For a long moment, he didn't dare move.

Alan had anchored himself in two places, a tree and a large boulder. One of those anchors had failed. 

Alan hadn’t fallen much, just off the side of the cliff. The sudden fall had caused him to lose his breath and the hold on the break rope supporting his brother. It took him a couple of seconds to realize what had happened and another second to start grabbing at the rope that was speeding past him with Gordon on the other end. 

He grabbed the rope and winced as it ran against his skin. It seemed to take forever for the rope to slow and finally stop. 

He took a moment to slow his breathing before accessing the situation. He was pinned against the top of the cliff with the edge digging into his back. His hands were burning from the rope. And Gordon was hanging below him in an unknown condition -- however from the scream of pain he had just heard it wasn’t good. 

He really needed to get back up on the edge, but with one hand holding Gordon that wasn’t going to be easy. Instead he decided to get Gordon up to his level first, secure him to the anchor and then get them both to safety. 

Painfully he started to pull on the rope. Inch by inch he brought Gordon up to the top of the cliff. He had to stop occasionally to give his hands some rest. He refused to look at them though, he could already tell skin had been rubbed away from the rope, and could feel a bit of blood, but he couldn’t let go. 

It probably took him a half hour to pull his brother up to his level. With every foot his brother’s condition looked worse and worse. Once at the top he quickly secured him to his anchor and relaxed for a moment. “Gordon. You okay?” It was a stupid question, he obviously wasn’t. 

It had taken longer than he would have liked for his mind to clear enough to realize he was moving. Another lapse of time to figure out it was by Alan's doing. Once Gordon had recovered some sense, he'd found a way to flip himself back upright, grunting through the pain and vertigo that had accompanied it. The thought of Alan trying to haul him up the cliff had been enough to center him, allowing for some traction as he used shaky limbs to expedite the process, one foot clumsily taking some of the strain between pulls. 

If it helped, he wasn't sure. By the time he heard the concerned query from his little brother, the world was tilting again. His shoulder ached and his stomach protested as the daggers continued to twist through his lower leg. He knew without a doubt what was wrong. He'd felt it before in Kansas, after falling from the zipline his brothers had installed. Unfortunately, they were a long way from a doctor's office and much needed painkillers. 

That didn't mean he couldn't answer his little brother's question, though. "Mmm - been better." Gordon tried to offer a reassuring grin, but it quickly turned into a wince as his leg tapped the cliff face. When the pain subsided, he figured clear and concise might be warranted. "B-broken leg. Mild shock. You?"

Alan’s frown deepened. A broken leg. That was going to be an issue. He forced a smile on his lips though, the rescuer in him coming through. “That’s nothing we can’t handle. My backs a little sore, and hands have rope burn, but I’ll deal.” 

After he’d caught his breath, Alan pulled himself out from under the rope that was causing the edge of the cliff to dig into his back, and pulled himself back up onto the ledge. He flexed his hands a little, still unwilling to actually look at them. He looked back at his anchors and saw that the rope had come off the bolder. The tree was still secure so Gordon was safe. He just needed to get him onto the ledge without hurting him any more. 

“Okay, Gordon. I’m going to pull you up. It’s not going to be pretty though so you might want to clench your jaw now so you don’t accidentally bite your tongue. 

Giving Gordon just a second, Alan reached down and took hold of his brother’s arms and pulled him up onto the ledge and away from the edge. Once on flat ground he assessed his brother’s condition. 

It looked to be a simple fracture--no bone sticking out at least--so he just needed to splint it and give Gordon what painkillers they had. He got the first aid kit out of the bag and went to work. He helped Gordon take the painkillers and then pulled out the splint. It was something new Brains had cooked up. They were only a foot long and connected with inflatable tubes. Alan carefully slipped it up Gordon’s leg and then started the slow process of inflating the tubes. Once inflated they provided a steady pressure on the fractured limb. 

Once that was done, he helped Gordon to sit up against the rock that had failed them and sat back on his heels. 

“When Scott finds out about this, I don’t think he’s going to let us do this again anytime soon.” 

"Yep -" Gordon took a breath to settle his stomach as it continued to protest. The way he felt, he would gladly agree with their elder brother keeping them locked up on Tracy Island for the foreseeable future. That's not what Alan needed to hear though. "He'll be typical Scott - all smother - but give 'im some time. This won't be our last camping trip."

Maybe it was the pills or the splint, but the daggers had turned into dull sticks that were bearable if he didn't try to move. It gave him enough clarity to remember what Alan had told him. 

"Hands, Sprout. They can't feel good right about now." He caught the wince, already reaching into the first aid kit that had been left by his side. When he'd found the bandages and all purpose ointment, Gordon had extended a slightly less trembling hand to request Alan's cooperation. 

Alan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn’t want to look at his hands, wanted to continue to ignore the stinging in them, but he knew he’d have to do something about it now--and was cursing that his gloves were one of the things he couldn’t find after the bear had destroyed his bag. So he sat down next to Gordon and extended one hand. 

The skin in the middle of each finger and on the palm of his hand was gone. In fact a few layers of skin were gone--shallow grooves in their place. The areas were an angry red, seeping with blood. Luckily he didn’t have to worry about bits of rope in the wounds, but there was still a chance of infection if he didn’t get them taken care of. 

Alan sat in silence as Gordon took care of his hands. This had all been his fault. He should have secured the rope on the boulder better than he had, or found a different source for an anchor. Now his brother had a broken leg and he could barely use his hands. 

He looked away from Gordon’s work and up at the sky. It was well past noon, getting on evening at that. He didn’t want to stay there, though, and every step they took was a step closer to getting to their brothers and finishing this stupid trip. 

“Do you think you could travel a bit more today?” 

Truthfully, Gordon would've been happy to sit there, but they needed to get going. They were in a terrible spot if their brothers came to find them. If they could make it back to the valley below, they could set up camp and try to find a safer route. Pain or not, he would have to suck it up and hobble down the mountain. 

"Yeah, I think so," he finally relented with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "It'd be great if we could find a stick for me to lean on at some point. For now, you get that privilege." This time he was able to give a bright grin. Yes, the meds were definitely kicking in.

Alan quickly - and awkwardly - collected their gear, carefully shoving it into their pack. With his help, Gordon made it to his feet, keeping the broken leg lifted as he leaned against Alan after the astronaut had pulled on their pack. Feeling a lot less confident about their chances of even reaching the lake where Scott and Virgil waited, they began their slow trudge down the mountain.

Alan’s hands were throbbing under their bandages, but he knew that was nothing to what Gordon was feeling. Still he had to use them to hang on to his brother so he could make it down the mountain. 

They made slow progress--only getting about five miles in--before they decided to make camp. The sun was almost all the way down, so once Alan got Gordon into a comfortable spot he went to work in building a fire. 

He winced everytime he grabbed something, and couldn’t help grunting as he struck the flint to get the fire started. You really don’t realize how much you use your hands until you’ve injured them. However, he had no choice, Gordon couldn’t walk, so he had to make sure their needs were met. 

Once the fire had started Alan wandered into the darkening forest to see if he’d have any luck finding berries. He was not as good as his brother in this endeavor and returned empty handed. Dinner was light because of that. They still had a bit of fish that had stayed good in their insulated bag, and a few berries from Gordon’s last collection, but that was it. 

He gave the fish to Gordon and munched on the berries himself. 

They were going into day five. Scott and Virgil would come looking for them on day six. They were still twenty miles away which wouldn't have been much normally, but right now they’d be lucky to get ten of those by the time the sun set. 

“Say Gordon. You think we should send for some help? It’s going to be rough otherwise. Or I could run ahead--” He honestly wasn’t sure if he could. His back was still hurting a bit and having to carry Gordon hadn’t helped it any. “We could possibly make it if we leave early and don’t stop till we get there.” 

The cold was already creeping into his limbs even sitting as close as he was to the fire, Gordon choosing to keep his arms wrapped around his torso to stave off the shivers his tired body wanted to emit. They still had decisions to make and the sooner they made them, the sooner he could sleep. That said, he wasn't thrilled with the idea of them splitting up. 

"We should leave as soon as its light. The sooner we make it to the campsite, the sooner we can deal with these." Gordon gestured to his leg and Alan's hands that were obviously bothering him to no end. He couldn't imagine how much they hurt to use. "Gotta change those bandages." It was hard to miss the dirt and grime that covered the once white cotton. 

He was thankful that Alan was willing to cooperate, the gause coming away thick with the gel and fluids that had seeped from the wounds. More ointment went on, followed by the last of the bandages. It was unavoidable. He couldn't have Alan developing an infection before they made it to the meeting spot. He hoped the pain relief in the ointment was helping, even just a little.

Alan clenched his jaw as Gordon gently pulled the bandages from his hands--fresh blood oozing from the wounds as the dried blood and skin was pulled off. He let out a hiss as Gordon cleaned the wounds again, and then a sigh as the cool ointment was applied. It was a lengthy process since it had to be done to his palms and all of his fingers, but Alan knew it had to be done to keep the chances of infection low. Though he’d admit he’d be surprised if they didn’t become at least a little infected by the time they returned to civilization. 

Once that was done, Alan unzipped Gordon’s sleeping bag and helped him in, zipped it up tight and threw in the last couple heat packs they had. They would sleep around the fire that night, there was no way he’d be able to get Gordon into the tent the way he was. 

However, Alan didn’t sleep. He was tired and exhausted, but his hands hurt and he was saving the painkillers for Gordon. The ointment did dull the pain a little, but they throbbed regardless. 

He sat and stared into the flames, making sure they stayed strong to keep them both warm. Once the sky started to lighten, he began making preparations to leave, but giving Gordon as much sleep as he could. Really they should wait for their brothers to come find them, it was the right thing to do. But Alan agreed with Gordon, but maybe for a different reason. They did need to get help as soon as possible. But he also wanted to finish this trip, and if they had to wait on their brothers it would feel like more of a failure than it already was and he wasn’t quite ready to admit to that, yet. 

The sun was just about to peek over the horizon when Alan finally woke up Gordon. Everything was packed except for his sleeping bag, and what berries were left. Alan had eaten a couple but saved the rest for Gordon. It would be the last food they’d eat before making it to the lake. 


	4. Chapter 4

Gordon was hungry. Probably the most hungry he'd ever been and without a doubt he knew Alan had to be feeling worse. The older brother had grumbled about the preferential treatment he'd had the night before and wondered just how much the astronaut had eaten in as much time. Certainly not enough to make a fifteen mile hike while supporting someone with a broken leg.

"Stop a sec," he ground out, already reaching for a tree that lined their path. They'd been walking for nearly four hours now. A break was a necessity at this point. "Just a second." He carefully lowered himself to the leaf-covered ground. 

Alan wanted to follow Gordon to the ground, but knew if he did, it was going to be twice as hard to get up again and they still had almost fifteen miles to go. It was going to take them all day at this pace and still end up a couple of miles short. But there wasn’t much they could do. Gordon could only go so fast and he’d need whatever breaks they could manage. 

“Do you need any more painkillers? I think there’s a couple of doses left.” Alan fumbled with the bag a little, his hands having become a bit stiff overnight. 

Waving the offer away, his hands went to massage his leg, the muscles angry from trying to keep from putting too much weight on the limb. "It's not as bad as it was." Which was the truth. The splint was still in place, holding back some of the swelling, but doing little to help the numbness in his foot. It made it difficult to feel the ground as they walked. He needed a crutch.

"How are you feeling?" Gordon asked as his gaze roamed over the areas between the trees. There had to be a large stick somewhere.

Alan nodded and started wandering along the path a little. He’d been on the lookout for a walking stick since they had left camp, but there had been little more than sticks as they went. He shrugged at Gordon’s question. “As good as I can be. I’m just ready to go home.” 

Unsatisfied with the selection on the ground he looked up. There was a loose branch caught in a tree nearby--all he needed to do was get it. 

Without another word he started the climb. It hurt his hands grabbing at the bark and lower branches, but they wouldn’t be able to continue like they were without some help. He almost fell a couple of times, but was able to get the branch out of the tree with a thud. 

With some grunts he made it back to the ground in one piece, though his hands weren’t thanking him at all. He kicked the branch over to Gordon and then squatted and pulled a knife out tossing it on the ground. “Think you can clean it up? I think my hands are about finished. 

If he'd had the heart, Gordon would have fussed at Alan for causing himself more potential harm. If it hadn't been for the stick on the ground beside him, he knew they wouldn't be making it to the camp today. They needed it. 

So with an appreciative smile that pushed away his concern for his little brother, he took the knife and went to work on the 'crutch'. "Thanks, Al. Better get you some water while I finish this." 

Alan nodded and pulled out one of the water bottles they had filled before leaving the river. That had seemed so long ago even though it had only been a couple of days. The bottle was light, they had used a bit on his hands to clean them, so he only took a sip saving as much as he could. 

He handed the bottle to Gordon once he had finished cleaning up the branch and stowed the knife back in the bag before pulling it back on his shoulders. “You ready to start going again?” 

Gordon took in just enough water to ease the dryness in his throat before handing the bottle back. "Yeah, it should be a bit faster now." He used the tree and the stick to get himself back up. Thankfully, he'd been able to cut back on of the branches attached to it, a groove working adequately to fit under his armpit. 

Their trek had immediately improved, though still slow, it wasn't as bad as relying on Alan to hold all of his weight. They continued through the densely wooded area and for a moment, Gordon found himself admiring its beauty. They would have to come back one day and experience it without the stress of their impending doom. Scott and Virgil were going to be upset. 

Another bend in the trail and he almost cried at the sight of more berry bushes, small though they were. "Alan, tell me you see those."

Alan’s attention had been drifting. He was aware enough to make sure Gordon was still hobbling next to him, but otherwise he was in a haze. The climbing he had done earlier had not helped his hands and they were almost numb and too stiff to move. 

When Gordon had spoken Alan blinked and followed his brother’s gaze. They were berries. He followed his brother to the bush and reached out to pick a berry but he could barely move his fingers at all. He was tempted to just stick his head in the bush and bite the berries off, but Gordon’s bandaged arm reminded him why that wasn’t a good idea. 

“Gordon--” Alan was a little ashamed that he was making his injured brother help him. “Could you pick me some berries? My hands aren’t really wanting to work.” 

"Don't even have to ask, bro." Gordon smiled wearily, hoping to relieve some of the kid's worries. He reached out and plucked a few of the berries into his hand, lifting them up to his brother's mouth. "Open up."

With his assistance - and insistence that Alan eat first - three handfuls had been consumed before Gordon started collecting his own. Within ten minutes, he was fairly certain he'd picked the bush clean. They technically weren't full, but it was a much needed boost to restore their energy levels. 

They continued on once they’d eaten all the berries they could find. They were still almost ten miles from the lake, and if he strained his eyes he could see just a bit of it through the trees at the bottom of the valley. 

However, his lack of sleep, food, and water was starting to get to him and he was feeling a bit sick to his stomach. A few miles later and he was forced to lean on a tree as he threw up what little was in his stomach. Even after the contents had been emptied his stomach still protested almost as if it wanted to leave his body as well. 

The makeshift crutch had caught him as soon as Gordon had lost his brother's support, stumbling to his own tree to prop against. Alarms blared in his head as he heard the retching from Alan, turning in time to see the pale teen as he fought for control. 

"Alan?" His voice was harsh and he tried to swallow against gravel lodged in his throat. "You okay?"

They were so close to their goal, but it seemed like everything was coming to a head. The numbness in his leg had resolved into an unrelenting, hot pain that would pull soft groans from him until his throat ached. Now, Alan had lost what little hydration and nutrients he'd consumed. Both of them were going to give out soon.

It took Alan a few moments before he was able to pull the bag off his back and drink the remaining water that was in their bottle. The liquid in his stomach made him feel a bit better, though his head was still spinning. 

“I’m good. Just tired.” Alan wiped his mouth and then looked down at the empty bottle. “Sorry. I just… I think I just needed something to drink.” He stuffed the bottle back in the bag and pulled it onto his back. “I’m ready to go if you are.” 

Alan probably wasn’t as ready as he tried to make it seem. They were so close and the sun was quickly making it toward the horizon. 

Gordon's arm looped over Alan's shoulders as they continued, trying his best to keep most of the weight on the stick. His mind began to wander to their older brothers and just what they were going to say. The idea that they probably had food cooking - steak wrapped in bacon with roast potatoes and carrots - sparked a second wind that almost had him grinning with anticipation. As they continued their ambling shuffle, food and water seemed to be the only thing he could think about. His thoughts were so lost he inadvertently placed the foot of his broken leg on the ground and pushed as though it might speed up their progress. Instead, it sent a sharp cry past clenched teeth as he stumbled, taking Alan with him.

For a long moment, he couldn't speak as the pulsating burn continued up his leg. When he found his voice, all he could think to say was "sorry."

Alan was on his knees hovering over Gordon. “Sorry? For what?” He was down by is leg checking the splint. It was still in place and holding. “What happened?” Alan shook his head. “Nevermind.” 

He pulled off his bag and got out the last of the pain pills. He had pulled the water bottle out but frowned. “Sorry, you’re going to have to swallow them dry.” 

Groaning at that idea, Gordon tried to close his eyes and push through the pain of sitting up. He hurt, but part of him didn't want the medication. At the concerned look on Alan's face, though, he relented and held out a hand to receive the pills. They sat in his mouth longer than desired, but eventually they slid uncomfortably down his esophagus. 

"Okay 'm good now." Getting up put a great deal of strain on his sore muscles, but as he straightened, Gordon was again thankful for his little brother's clarity. "Thanks, Al."

Alan tried to force a smile, but it just wouldn’t stick. “We’ve only got a few more miles.” He used his wrist--since his hands were pretty much useless--and held on to his brother as best he could. 

They kept trying to speed up, knowing their brothers were close, but each time they did they about hit the ground. So they were forced to go at it slow, but steady. 

It was well past sunset when they came to the lake--though they still had to make the trek around it--they could see their brothers’ fire burning bright. It was like a beacon pulling them to safety. 

As they made their way along the shore the silhouettes of their brothers came more into focus. The clouds covered the moon so Alan was sure they hadn’t seen them yet. A few minutes later though and the moon shone brightly on the lake’s surface. Alan noticed the figures sit up straighter and one of them turned around. They raised their arm to wave, but stopped, standing up. The other followed and a moment later they were running away from the warmth of the fire toward them. 

Scott was the first to reach them, always a touch faster than Virgil even on the ground. “Alan, Gordon. What the hell happened?” 

Alan was so relieved to see his brothers that a smile split his face--and his dry lips. He could taste the blood as he licked them. Tears were also running down his cheeks and Scott reached up and took his face in his hands wiping them away. The smile faded as the last few days came back to him and his tears increased. “It’s my fault. Gordon broke his leg and I hurt my hands and we lost the tracker cause of a bear and--I’m sorry. I failed.” 

Scott stepped away and took Alan’s hands and looked at them. They were swollen, red, and the bandages were covered in dirt and blood. “You got yourself and your brother here in one peice--albeit a bit broken. Still you’re here and you’re alive. In the IR book, that’s a success. These injuries can be taken care of, none of it is fatal. Though I will want to hear more in detail later, let’s get you to Two and get you patched up. Then we can gather up our equipment and get you two to the hospital where you can get properly treated.” 

Alan nodded and looked to the ground. Scott turned and Alan expected that he was just going to follow him, but instead his brother knelt down and held his hands out behind him. 

“Get on.” 

“What?” 

“You’ve done well, now let us take care of you.” 

Alan nodded and climbed onto his brother’s back, burying his face in the back of his shoulder. 

Scott stood and started off toward the bird that loomed in the distance. “You know I’m proud of you. You didn’t give up, and kept going regardless.” 

“But we could have died.” 

“But you didn’t.” 

“But what if we had waited for you to come find us?” 

“Then I would have been proud of you then too, knowing when you needed help and not afraid to ask.” 

Alan choked on the sob that escaped, and cried into his brother’s shoulder. 

Gordon had been so focused on staying upright, ears buzzing with the pain in his leg, he hadn't registered the presence of his brothers until Virgil had caught his arm holding the crutch. Alan was gone a moment later and there was the unmistakable sound of Scott worrying over their little brother. Good. Alan needed to be worried over and Gordon just wasn't up to the job at the moment.

"Whoa, Gordon," Virgil caught him as he wobbled with the loss of his secondary support. "What did you do?" The engineer was practically dragging him down the path.

Grunting through the sparks that traveled up his leg, Gordon tried to find the words that could explain everything. "Fell down a mountain."

The medic side of his brother was quickly emerging with the string of questions that followed. "Anything broken?"

"Leg."

"Compound?"

"S-mmm- ow… simple."

"How long has it been broken?"

"Uh, two days, I think."

This had Virgil stopping mid stride, arms pulling Gordon closer to his side to relieve more of the stress on the blonde's tired muscles. "Damn… does it feel infected?"

"Dunno, just hurts a lot." Gordon blinked up to the treeline that edged the lake and caught sight of the big green bird. "Oh, she's pretty." 

Virgil gave a short huff that could have been a laugh. Or maybe he was beginning to suspect more wrong with the aquanaut. "Any other injuries?"

"Hm," fatigue was making it difficult to recall just what had happened over the last week. "Oh -" he would've shown his big brother the bandaged arm if it wasn't over the larger man's shoulders. "Snake bite. Not venomous. Swollen, though."

"Alright, that's it." Before he knew it, Virgil had him over his shoulder, their pace increasing. Gordon couldn't say he minded as the sudden shift in position sent his head spinning. He was ready to sleep anyway. 

Alan had calmed down by the time they had arrived at the elevator that would take them into Two. Alan moved to slide down his brother’s back, but Scott kept hold of him, not allowing him to do so. They rode the elevator up and Scott took him to the medbay where Virgil and Gordon already were. 

Seeing his two eldest brothers working together was like a ballet in the small room. Scott looked at Alan’s eyes, and in his mouth. He cut off the bandages on his hands and pinched at the skin before turning them over to look at the injuries. 

“Alan’s dehydrated, and I have the feeling they haven’t eaten much in the past couple of days on top of shock.” 

“Agreed.” Virgil’s reply was a rumble as he finished putting an IV in Gordon’s arm. He moved over and collected another IV kit and without a word Scott turned to Gordon as Virgil came up to him. “I’ll admit, you two were starting to worry even me.” 

“Sorry.” Alan winced as the needle slid into his arm. 

“Don’t be. Looks like you two had quite the adventure. Can’t wait to hear about it.” Once the IV was set, Virgil picked up one of Alan’s hands and looked at it. “Alan’s hands are going to need to be cleaned good.” 

“So is this snake bite Gordon got. Looks like it might be infected.” 

And once again the ballet happened. Virgil moved and grabbed two more kits from storage handing one to Scott who was now in front of him while Virgil was back next to Gordon. 

Scott gently picked up one of his hands and looked at it before he began the cleaning process. “Rope burn, huh? What happened to your gloves?” 

“Bear.” 

“I didn’t realize bears had an affinity for rock climbing.” 

Alan knew Scott was just in rescue mode, doing what he could to reassure the rescuee, but Alan still couldn’t help a small chuckle. It didn’t last long as Scott rinsed out the wound with some antibacterial solution which stung quite badly and Alan found himself hissing at the pain. 

“Did you take any of the medicine you had on you for this?” 

“Gordon put some of the burn ointment on it, but I saved the pills for him.” 

“I see.” Scott reached over to where Virgil had laid out some medicine and grabbed a small cup and a bottle of water. “Open up.” 

Alan did as he was told and a couple of pills were thrown into his mouth, and then a straw was held up to him. He took a drink and swallowed the pills, then continued to drink until the bottle was taken away from him. 

“Easy there. You know you shouldn’t gulp down the water when you’re in this state.” 

Alan nodded, he did know, but it was hard not to. Now, though, he kind of understood why people did that--it felt good to get cold water in him. The coldness soothing his dry throat and upset stomach, he wanted more, but instead Scott grabbed another cup that Virgil had set out and pulled out an ice cube. 

Alan took it in his mouth gratefully as Scott continued cleaning the wounds. 

IVs were just part of life and Gordon had easily ignored the sting of his as Virgil worked. He was more focused on Alan. Now that they were in the sterile environment of the medbay under the halogen lights, he could take account of everything that had gone wrong. Most of which he was pinning on himself. If he'd been more intune with Alan, more cautious around that berry bush, strong enough to climb without falling and taking his little brother with him, they would have had an enjoyable trip. If he hadn't needed to be carried, Alan wouldn't be this exhausted. 

But there was no point in blaming. Pointing fingers couldn't fix what happened. Learning and growing from it, that was the only thing that would bring growth from these experiences. Dad had drilled that into his head more times than he could count back when he was in school. Failure only gave you opportunities to expand. Gordon made a mental note to share that lesson with his brother once they were home. No doubt Alan was beating himself up over everything that had happened. 

A snapping sound drew his attention back to Virgil just in time to see the fingers fall away. "You with me?" Gordon nodded. "Alright, I need to check your arm for infection. Alan did a great job with the splint, so there's not much I can do for your leg other than some IV antibiotics. Gave you a little pain medication to help, but this is going to hurt once I start cleaning it." He indicated the bite wound. 

"Aw, Virg, c'ldn't sugarcoat it for me?" He slurred with an exaggerated pout.

"That was sugarcoating it, Squirt." Virgil smiled sadly. "Just let me know if you need a break."

Gordon didn't answer, just tried to sink into the small pillow under his head and float away. Unfortunately, his brother wasn't joking as he carefully removed the bandage, sending spikes of pain through his arm. The reprieve came as a cool deluge of water, followed immediately by searing fire with the addition of antiseptic wash. Even then, he only groaned through clenched teeth. 

For a second, his tormentor was gone, but the heavy sound of boots soon returned, along with a gentle hand on his chest. "This is going to hurt, Gordon. I need you to hold the rail and try as hard as you can not to move."

Amber eyes shot open to find the syringe in his brother's hand. "Is'at r'lly necessary?"

Virgil nodded. "It is if you wanna keep that arm. You've got some pretty deep infection."

"Fine -" he took the bar by his side and gripped it. He would've preferred a hand, but all of those were busy elsewhere or hurt. "Torture away, doc."

That's what it was - torture. The needle slid into the wound and breached the infection with ease, but the bolt that it sent through him broke an unsuspecting cry from his throat, only made worse as his leg involuntarily lifted to dig his heel into the mattress. 

Scott was still cleaning Alan’s hands when Gordon screamed. Alan made to jump off the med bed, but Scott stopped him. 

“He’s fine.” 

“But--” 

“Virgil’s taking care of him. Don’t worry.” 

Alan still leaned around his brother to look at Gordon contorted in pain. 

Scott stepped to the side to block him. “Look at me.” 

Alan looked down instead. 

Gordon’s cries didn’t last long though and Scott finished up cleaning Alan’s own hands. He lightly covered them in gauze and forced Alan to lay down. 

“Is Gordon okay?” Alan looked over at his brother who already seemed fast asleep. 

“I gave him a small sedative. He’ll be fine.” Virgil smiled down at him. “Get some sleep yourself. We’ve got to go gather our things then we’ll be on our way.” 

Alan nodded, but kept his eyes on Gordon. 

  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

The first feeling to come back to him was the soft cushion of a hospital bed. The next was the not so subtle grumble of his stomach. 

Light greeted Gordon as he pulled open his eyelids, fading away to the dull gray shadows of a hospital room at night. The observation light was the only think giving him a view of the other occupants, the one he was most worried about laying in his own bed. It didn't take much to shift his head to find Alan, sound asleep with an IV still dripping and bandaged hands resting by his sides. 

Movement at the end of the bed revealed that Virgil was aware of his state of waking and was ready to play middleman for him and their doctor. "Mornin'. How are you feeling?"

Gordon cleared his throat - tried to anyway - his tongue clicking the roof of his mouth to find any moisture. He could see his own IV still running, but it did little to remedy the desert inhibiting his speech. It didn't stop him from trying though. "Eh, could use a nap." His stomach rolled again. "And a sandwich."

He sounded like he'd been chewing on sandpaper, but Virgil seemed to understand, chuckling at his brother's plight. "Well, I snagged the pudding off Alan's tray earlier. Think that'll hold you for a bit?" Without being asked, the older brother held out a cup of water with a straw. 

Gordon took a few sips, thankful for relief. "Depends. What flavor?"

Virgil gave him a look of offense. "Like I'd offer anything other that chocolate. Really, Gordo." He swiftly produced the small cup and spoon, helping to lift the head of the bed so Gordon could eat. 

As he savored the first bite, the aquanaut took stock of everything else in the room, which wasn't much besides the hospital equipment. Scott was present, sleeping in a chair next to Alan's bed. Apparently, Virgil was on watch duty. 

For a moment, he wished they were all awake, simply to prove to himself that things were finally okay. He would settle on his second eldest for the time being. "What's the damage?"

Virgil pulled his seat up to the side of Gordon's bed before answering. "Oh, you definitely broke your leg. You'll get to have surgery once the infections are under control."

He groaned with the idea of having to be here more than he already had been. "So, still broken. Mm, fun." Taking another spoonful of pudding, Gordon had other pressing questions. "How's Alan?"

“I’ll survive.” Alan had been awake the whole time, just keeping his eyes closed hoping to doze off. 

“Alan, you’re supposed to be asleep.” Virgil sighed a little. 

“I’m trying.” Alan mirrored the sigh and let his eyes slide open a bit. “Everytime I close my eyes my mind screams to check on Gordon. I know you’re fine, but--” Alan sighed again and closed his eyes. “I really wish I could go to sleep.” 

“All you have to do is say the word and I’ll get the nurse in here to give you a sedative.” 

“No, If I don’t want to depend on that. I need to sleep on my own.” 

“Alan.” Scott had stirred a bit next to him and rubbed his face as he sat up. “It’s okay to need some help.” 

“I don’t want it.” The words came out a little harsher than he had intended. Alan opened his eyes again and turned his head away from his brother. “I’ll fall asleep, just give me some time.” 

“Alan it’s been sixteen hours. I’ve slept more than you have.” Scott reached forward and squeezed Alan’s leg. “When was the last time you slept?” 

“Our last night, just before making it to you guys.” It was a lie, but for some reason he didn’t want them to know that it had been longer than that. 

“That’s too long. If you can’t fall asleep in the next hour I’m having them sedate you.” 

“No! I don’t want it!” 

“I don’t care if you don’t want it! I’m your guardian and I can make the decision for you if I have to!” 

“You do and I’ll hate you!” 

Scott breath caught in his throat at that. He cleared it a little and frowned. “Then you’ll have to hate me.” He stood and looked over at Virgil. “I’m going down to the cafeteria, you want anything?” 

Before Virgil could answer, Gordon cut in, his eyes fixed on his little brother. "Hey, Virg, why don't you go with Scott. Bring us something back." His appetite had left pretty quickly once he'd listened to his brothers, but he needed the room cleared. Whatever was going on with Alan, it most likely had something to do with a whole lot of guilt he shouldn't be carrying. 

Virgil, who tended to be more of the peacekeeping type in these situations hesitated for a moment, understandably wanting to add his own two cents in to help. Gordon caught his eye and hoped his silent plea was received. 

"Alright," Virgil finally relented. "Can't promise anything that doesn't come out of a vending machine, but we'll try."

"Thanks, Virg." He gave an appreciative smile, nodding slightly to Scott as they made their way out of the room. Once the door shut, his attention was solely on the blonde who wouldn't look at him. "Alan, what's going on and don't think I'll take 'nothing' as an answer."

Alan sniffed. He hadn’t meant to say that and he hoped Scott would forget it by the time he got back. “I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders a bit, but still didn’t look at his brother. Instead he turned his gaze to the ceiling. 

“I’ve tried to sleep. I promise I have. At first it’s feels good, that relief of being able to close your eyes, but then--it’s like some memory pops into my head and wakes me up. I have a vague sense of what it is, but otherwise can’t remember it.” 

Alan finally turned toward Gordon. “It’s like every emotion possible all at once. It’s so overwhelming I can’t stand it. And I hate feeling like this too. I just wish we’d never gone on this trip.” He took in a breath and let it out as his gaze once again turned to the ceiling. 

"Oh, don't say that, Al." Gordon's heart ached with the need to help his little brother. "There were plenty of good parts. Yeah, there were some bad, but we can't let those overshadow the fun stuff." Granted, those bad times were ever present as they lay in the hospital, but they could overcome physical trauma. The emotional would be a little more complicated to untangle. 

Gordon took a breath, aware that Alan was still pretty upset. "So, when did you start having trouble sleeping? The river?"

Alan shook his head. “The cliff. I--I haven’t slept since the night before we started the climb.” It was said quietly. Almost so that he hoped Gordon hadn’t even heard him. 

For a moment, Gordon couldn't find the words, his head trying to find the math needed to know how long that had been. Too long, he determined. "Alan… that's -" he cleared his throat to stop his train of thought. Alan knew how long it had been and how bad it was. No need to reiterate the facts. He would have to go a different route. "That was after the bear and the snake?" So much of the week had blurred itself together.

“Yeah, that was day three, morning. We were able to cross the second river and catch some fish before camping that night. It was good fish.” Alan trailed off. 

His lips thinned in recognition of the diversion. "Yeah, it was, but that doesn't explain why you couldn't sleep." They'd had a good plan together - up until the fall - so there shouldn't have been any stress to inhibit a proper sleep. "Were you upset about anything before we went to bed?"

“I slept fine that night. Really, the whole bear thing was funny to watch. But then if I hadn’t left my bag out we wouldn’t have been short, equipment wise. I wouldn’t have needed to stretch the anchors out, and I would have had my gloves.” Alan picked up his hands and looked down at them. He wouldn’t be using them for awhile according to the doctor, and he’d have to go through therapy and who knew how long it would be before he could go climbing again. But then that was nothing compared to Gordon. He’d be on dry land until his leg healed. 

Ah, guilt. Terrible feeling that Gordon himself had cordoned off for the better of their survival. Without Dad's presence, Alan had missed the lesson or not put it into practice enough. He was the baby of the family and thus was inadvertently sheltered from a lot of the hard questions. Gordon had created his own set of issues to learn from. It seemed the astronaut was in need of the advice, but what was the best way to offer it?

Their father's voice filtered into his thoughts and there was a hint of a smile at the memory. It had the possibility of working if he told it right. Couldn't hurt to try. 

"Hey, Al, did anyone ever mention the time we didn't have the pickup for a week? At the farm? It got wrecked."

“That old blue one?” Alan thought for a moment, the change in topic confused him, but the distraction helped him to stop thinking about certain things for at least a moment. “I vaguely remember someone talking about it getting wrecked but I don’t think anyone ever told me what happened. Why?” 

Opening his mouth to answer, Gordon stopped. It had been nearly a decade since the events that lead to the truck being kaput and he hadn't really talked about it with anyone but Dad. He swallowed hard before continuing. "Well, it was because of me. Big surprise. I was twelve, thought it'd be fun to drive it around while Dad was in a conference call. I hadn't planned on crashing, just a quick trip around the farm, but then a couple of the barn cats ran out. I swerve right into a fence and a tree. Bam, no more truck." He paused for a moment to help the next part sink in. "And no more fence to keep the horses in."

Gordon had been so shocked by the impact, the only reason he remembered that part was because of Dad pulling him from the ruined truck and telling him to sit on the porch until he could round them all up again. "I waited on the porch for three hours waiting for Dad to get them all back. I figured he would yell at me. He didn't, though. Instead, he told me Virgil's horse was still missing and then went inside. Virg wasn't even there. He and Scott had decided to spend their spring break somewhere else. Grandma had you and John at a space thing, I can't quite remember. I felt so sick after that, I couldn't eat. Took Dad until dinner the next night to finally sit me down. He told me nothing good ever came out of guilt left unchecked. If you let it consume you, it'll do more harm than good. He told me to take the experience for what it was and grow from it." Gordon smiled as he remembered how the story ended. "The next day, he and I rode out to one of the more secluded pastures and found Virgil's horse living up her newfound freedom. Dad was so mad at that stubborn horse. Then, I helped move the truck and fix the fence. He didn't make me do anything, but it all made me feel good… and hungry. I definitely ate a lot after that." 

With the story out in the open, Gordon hoped it made enough sense to reach the heart of his little brother's problem. "You follow me?"

Alan had been listening closely. He did follow his brother. Too closely, maybe. At his brother’s question Alan nodded, his bottom lip between his teeth. 

His father’s advice--he could even hear it in his voice--it had been his fault. All of it. But he was trying not to point blame or get mad again, cause that’s what had caused it all in the first place. If he hadn’t gotten mad at Gordon because of the river, the bear wouldn’t have gotten his things, they’d have had enough equipment for the climb, enough food for the both of them, and neither of them would have gotten injured. 

“I-I’m sorry.” The sob came out and he gasped for air as another one followed. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. And afterwards, I just wanted to help you, make up for my mistake, but I couldn’t even do that.” He held up his hands and then covered his eyes with an arm as he continued to cry. “The only thing I can do is to stay awake and make sure you’re okay. If I let them sedate me, I can’t even do that! And then Scott--He--I--” The crying consumed him and he was no longer able to talk. 

Gordon's initial response would've been to go wrap his little brother in a comforting hug, but his current state stopped him. Getting up to help Alan would just add more guilt to the pile he was dealing with. Instead, he let him cry for a moment until the sobs began to dwindle. 

"Al, what happened - it happened. And it's not just you. I shouldn't have rushed the river crossing and I should have checked the camp before going to sleep. I knew you were upset. We have redundancies for a reason. But we can't let those mistakes stop us from trying again. We learn from them and become better - and not just camping. We take what we learn and apply it to our jobs. We have to depend on each other everyday. That means communicating and listening. That means having each other's back. You kept your head and got us to our brothers. Even though the trip didn't go according to plan, we're still better for it." Gordon tried to lean forward to catch his brother's eyes. "Dad would've been proud."

He let the silence of their room stretch for a moment, his gaze ever watchful of his distraught brother. "I'm okay, Alan. I'm going to be fine. There's nothing left to worry about. And Scott's fine. He knows you're dealing with a lot right now. But if it'll make you feel better, all you gotta do is talk to him." He offered a reassuring grin before adding a much needed instruction. "And get some sleep. That alone'll do miracles."

Alan nodded and sniffed. He knew that, he did. But it was so different when it was his own brother and his own mistakes. He was so used to those redundancies already being there that--no, no more blaming. Those redundancies are there because someone else made the mistake and they learned from it. It could have been their own father, or Scott, or Virgil. 

Alan took a bit of time to think. He was trying so hard not to worry about it, to pretend it didn’t happen. Gordon was right, they needed to talk, figure out a way to keep those things from happening again. 

Alan’s face was still wet with tears but a small smile peeked out from under them. “I want to be like Scott and Virgil. They know each other so well, they almost don’t need to talk. But I guess it’s going to take a while before we’re like that. Though you and Virgil are pretty close.” 

Gordon shrugged, grinning at the pairings Alan had set between them. "Oh, we've all got our own issues though. Like, Scott tends to run headlong into a situation. Drives Virgil crazy." Memories of his second eldest brother venting over repairs in the modules came back to him and he couldn't stop the chuckle they spurred. "And me - well, when I'm not annoying Virgil with my humor, I'm worrying him. He's got it rough, stuck in a big green transport ship while I drive around in pods or Thunderbird 4. It's why I don't go with Scott too often. It would give Virg a coronary." The grin brightened into a smile of hope. "We'll have our own ways of clicking. It'll scare our brothers, but that's what being a part of International rescue is about. Nothing's ever easy, but we work and learn together. The more experiences we share, the better we'll be." A knowing grin, "and I'm pretty sure you and Scott and John work seamlessly."

Alan laughed a little at that. “I’m not so sure about John. I think he gets a bit annoyed at all of us whenever we bend the rules too much.” 

“I don’t know, I think I’d have to agree with Gordon.” Scott was in the doorway with Virgil right behind him. “John was just telling me the other day how you were growing up to be just like me.” Scott smiled as he walked into the room. “And do you remember Haley’s comet?” 

“How could I forget it?” Alan’s smile grew wider. 

“I think we worked quite well on that--though you did give me a heart attack when you jumped off the rock.” 

“You would have done the same thing.” 

“Without a doubt.” Scott sat down and held up the small cup he had in his hands. “Check out what we found. They actually had an ice cream machine down there. Nothing fancy, just vanilla and chocolate but we thought you guys would like it.” 

“Absolutely!” Alan’s smile was back, though he still looked horrible with running on zero sleep. 

He opened his mouth and let Scott feed him a couple of bites. “Scott.” 

“Yes?” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” 

“For saying I’d hate you.” 

“Already forgotten.” Scott took a quick bite for himself before giving one to Alan. 

“And one more thing.” 

“Yes?” 

“Could I get that shot? The sedation one? After the ice cream of course.” He paused and looked over at Gordon for a moment. “I really could use some sleep. It’s been a hell of a week.” 

Taking the cup Virgil offered him, Gordon shoved a spoonful into his own mouth while contentedly watching his eldest and youngest lighten the mood of the room. He leaned back into his pillow now that the crisis had been averted, letting his tense shoulders relax. He hated to see anyone upset, almost like it drew so much of his own strength to help, no matter how important. 

At Alan's request, Gordon knew everything would be okay. He would have surgery in a few days and he and his little brother could hang out until they were ready to return to their jobs, saving lives. He could offer Alan a purpose in helping him until then. That was their bright side to all this. Bonding time. 

A little while later, after an abbreviated exchange of what had happened, he managed a couple more bites before Virgil was forced to take it from him as it teetered towards the floor. 

"Go to sleep, Gordo." The engineer's voice was low as he set the ice cream aside.

Gordon didn't want to just yet, his attention on his little brother as the nurse stood by his bed with a syringe sticking into the IV port. It was a necessity at this point, but he couldn't help the protective nature that was the job of a big brother. 

But as Alan's eyes met his, a soft smile on his young face, Gordon's eyelids began to droop with his. 

"G'night, Allie."

Alan smiled at Gordon as he watched his brother doze off. His body--or rather mind--was still fighting the sleep a little and it took a bit before he could no longer keep his eyes open. 

He looked back over to Scott who was still sitting by his bed, finishing up what was left of the ice cream. 

Scott smiled and leaned over squeezing Alan’s leg in lieu of his hand. “We’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.” 

“You can’t promise that.” Alan slurred a little. “What if there’s a rescue?” 

“You are more important.” 

“No. I’ll be fine. You gotta help others. It’s what Dad wanted.” 

Scott smiled squeezing his leg again. “Alright. I’ll be here when you wake, unless there’s a rescue. But I’ll leave a note if that’s the case.” 

Alan smiled and nodded the medicine finally taking a hold of him as he eyes closed and he fell into a peaceful sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! 
> 
> Hope yall enjoyed this! We had a lot of fun writing it! Definitely a great writing exercise!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


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